From Hero to Rei
by sapper92
Summary: Yuudai died as a soldier fighting on the front lines. Now he's a shinobi of Iwagakure doing the only thing he knows he's good for, killing his fellow man to survive, however, things are just a bit more complicated this time. He will soon know his enemies lurks in places he never knew they would be. (Dreaming of Sunshine and Sugar Plums AU) (Self-Insert)
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

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"I am glad you all could assemble here on such short notice," Tsunade said.

The hall for the shinobi alliance headquarters was indeed massive in both scope and size. A large bubble floated in the center being held up by what I assumed to be chakra by the men holding their arms up. With all my shinobi experience I wasn't too surprised by what chakra was capable of accomplishing. Chakra was only limited by the imagination you could in a sense do whatever you wanted with it so long as your skill allowed it. I walked around it and up to the massive u-shaped table, I noticed that there were two others also waiting one from Konoha and the other from Suna.

"I came as soon as I received your message, I apologize information moves slow in the middle of combat," I said. I looked around to see three others gathered as well one whom I recognized, others I did not.

"Good, we have an important mission for you all, one that will take you away from the front lines for a while," Tsunade continued. "We need you to find someone who has been missing for half a decade now,"

"Who might that be Tsunade-sama?" the girl with black hair and mask on with the face of what appears to be a bat spoke.

"I don't really feel like chasing a ghost, isn't bad enough we are fighting dead people already," the boy with sandy brown hair spoke.

"Silence, I do not want to hear complaining you will do as you are told, now to answer your question as to who you are looking for I will allow the Tsuchikage to brief you on that,"

Our eyes then shifted to the old man currently sitting in mid-air like it was normal. For some odd reason I had this nagging feeling like I knew already who this mission was going to be about. I kept trying to deny it because the odds were just too low for it to turn out the way I was thinking it would.

"We hand selected you all, for this mission because each one of you have either had some sort of connection with the target or have crossed each other in combat, we took extreme caution in deciding who would be best to lead this mission as well," the Tsuchikage grew quiet before continuing. "This person you are about to pursue is by definition a sociopath and you must use extreme caution when talking to and dealing with him,"

Once that sentence was uttered I knew who it was. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach, I thought he was dead surely he was I was the one…

"He is an s-class criminal, skilled in taijutsu, and ninjutsu but it's his genjutsu that you need to be wary of he can ensnare you from anywhere without you even knowing, the one you are looking for is Yuudai,"

"THERE'S NO WAY HE'S ALIVE, I KILLED HIM I'M SURE OF IT!" I yelled. There was no way I kept repeating in my head. How? I wasn't under a genjutsu I was sure of it when I plunged my sword into his heart I watched the life leave his eyes. My heart began to pace and could feel the scowl beginning to form on my lips.

He's dead.

"I'm sure you believed you killed him in your mind Fuuma-san, but I'm sure you should know better than anyone of us here that Yuudai loves playing mind games and tricks to fool even those closest to him, excuse me I should have addressed you formally; Akumu Fuuma-san,"

When that was said I froze. My composure was already shattered but that just struck me deep in my core. That surname it was...still apart of me one in which I loved and cursed at the same time. All the memories began to flood my mind like the wall I built up and put them behind came crumbling down.

"I need proof," I rasped. "If you can't give me that then I refuse to take on this mission,"

The Tsuchikage sighed. I knew it was because I was being difficult but for all we knew we were chasing a ghost.

"Bring her in," he said solemnly. The doors to our left opened and there stood the last person I wanted to see.

"Ak-kako?" I breath.

"Good to see you again, Fuuma. My these past few years have been wonderful to you, I'm almost jealous,"

"Is he alive?" I asked.

"My right to it huh? Can't even say hi, how have you bee-"

"Answer me!" I exclaimed.

Akako's face got serious now.

"Yes, he is still alive, I saw him not to long ago he saved me and my platoon from certain death. He was like a ghost there but not at the same time,"

Then he used his soul body technique. There was no doubt he was alive and well. I turned back to the five kage.

"What do we need to do lord Tsuchikage?" I asked.

"Bring him here alive, and convince him to fight for the allied shinobi alliance." he said.

I wanted to scoff but refrained.

"You are asking for a miracle. Yuudai wouldn't even consider it,"

The Tsuchikage floated right up to me.

"Then make him, you are the only one who can put a leash on him, not only do you match him in skill but I've seen it with my own two eyes. Fuuma only you can do this."

They had too much faith in me. I could never control Yuudai only contain him, and after my betrayal of his trust I highly doubt I could even do that. I could only imagine the pain he must have felt. Even when I said I wouldn't abandon him like everyone else did, I couldn't keep my word. I was a weak woman back then but this time…

"I'll go but only if I go by myself, if he sees I've brought people with me he won't want to talk. He'll feel threatened,"

Onoki scowled for a second before nodding his head.

"Very well, I agree to your condition," he said

I bowed and quickly began to make my way out of the chamber.

I wondered would this be the last mission I ever take. Would I come back alive after this? There was only one way to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

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"Time to get up Yuudai," my mother said. I instinctively dug my head deeper into my pillow and threw the covers over my head. My mother snatch the covers off my body allowing the cold air to assault and wake me from my slumber.

"Five more minutes," I groaned.

"Absolutely not, get up," she said in a demanding tone. I knew she wasn't playing I sat up reluctantly and began to rub the sleep from my eyes. "You have five minutes, to be downstairs at the table for breakfast you know your father leaves for a mission today,"

With that she left my room leaving the door open. Ah, dad does leave today for the border, I had forgotten about it. There is tradition in our house if someone is leaving for a mission then we all sit down at the table and eat a meal together. It was a way to tell them to return home without the words ever being uttered. My feet touched the cold floor and I flinched a bit at the temperature but I stood up and dragged myself to the bathroom and brush my teeth before heading to the dining room. I scrubbed my teeth while looking at my reflection my jet black hair was a mess thanks to my pillow, my eyes were a bit red contrasting with my blue-grey irises, and I had a drool mark on the left side of my mouth.

"YUUDAI!" my mother yelled. That wasn't five minutes.

"Coming," I droned. I spit out the toothpaste into the sink ran the water and washed my face before going downstairs.

I entered the dining room to see my father seated at the head of the table.

"Good morning oyaji," I said.

"Morning to you, haha you look terrible," my father laughed. I sucked my teeth.

"Only because I was unceremoniously woken up by okaa-chan at an ungodly hour," I said.

He let out a low chuckle.

"You never were a morning person, even as a baby,"

"I'm not," I said as my mom brought out our plates.

"Well you need to become one there is no way you will survive as a shinobi trying to sleep until noon," my mother chastised me

Ha she has no idea not even the army could make me a morning person and I served for five years before I died. If that couldn't do it then there was no way being a shinobi was going to change me. Once we all sat down and thanked mom for the food we began to eat.

"So dear, where on the border are they sending you?" my mother asked after eating some rice.

"The western border, the hidden Haze village has acted up recently and gotten into a few skirmishes with our guys so the Tsuchikage wants to beef up security there,"

"Hopefully it remains to just skirmishes, we don't need another war breaking out,"

My mother and father were both shinobi. If they fought in war I wouldn't know, neither one ever talked about their work life openly and I could understand their reasoning for not talking at all.

War is a painful topic especially to those who survive it. Plus when your job is to kill people that's not a topic you just...speak on especially not to a four-year old.

"So, Yuudai" my father began snapping me out of my musings. "I hear you are going to begin your shinobi training with your mother today,"

"So she says, I'm sure something will come up that will draw her away from me," I said.

"It's not my fault ok? My captain has been very demanding recently," she shot back.

"What about your sister?" my father asked. My mother turned to my father with a look that was both confused and horrified.

"Are you crazy?! She is a member of the executioner forces she would never agree to training Yuudai, she too has a lot on her plate,"

"She doesn't have to train him exclusively just cover for you on the days you can't do it,"

My mother sat in thought for a minute.

"Okay I'll ask be I don't expect anything to come of it, she just came back from a mission,"

I didn't know I had an aunt for the past four years the only thing I knew that was family was my mother and father. Only now am I hearing about this aunt of mines, and the executioner forces? was that Iwa's equivalent to the ANBU? Or was it as ominous a group as its name suggested, the they just went around putting people to death within the village.

The show never elaborated on Iwagakure's make up, everything was mystery. From the way they operated down to how the everyday life was sure it was a shinobi village, but what kind? To say Iwa was just like Konoha would be a mistake because if that was the case then there would have never been wars between the two. They would have been allies which I could piece together quickly Iwa had no such thing. No allies, constantly at odd with the rest of the world, and complete control granted to the Tsuchikage. As far as I knew there were no labor camps and the food supply was consistent so that was a good thing, for now anyways.

"Why am I just now hearing of this aunt of mines?" I asked. The table grew quiet almost instantly. Then my mother spoke up.

"It's because she was on a long-term mission in the land of water, she left shortly after you were born,"

"Well then what is she like?"

"She a total psychopath," my father shot out, which earned him my mother's death glare.

"She is not!" she exclaimed "don't listen to your father Yuudai he's just being an ass your aunt is just a strong-willed individual who can rub people the wrong way sometimes,"

"Why lie to the boy he'll find out the truth soon enough,"

My parents then began to bicker with each other like children do but it was lighthearted. You know the kind of verbal play fighting you have with a best friend; light but serious, sour but still sweet. It was kind of nice to see two people like this, in love I mean at least that is what it looks like I've never had the experience so I wouldn't know for sure. It kind of gave the part of my heart that was still warm, still human hope that I could find someone like that. Heh yeah right no point in throwing coins down an empty well.

After breakfast my father grabbed his bag and gave my mother a kiss and rustled my hair to which I swatted his hand away and left out. I helped my mother with cleaning the table and the dishes before we set out to begin our own day.

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My mother and I began making our way to the other side of the village. To which I was amazed by the architectural masterpiece that was Iwagakure. The village was literally carved out of the mountain itself and everything was connected by bridges. This was ingenious engineering and the best part was that the mountain range served as a natural fortress. You couldn't invade this place if you wanted to, I could see now why the wars were fought in other lands each village had natural defenses that if not considered could cost you severely.

As we moved over each bridge we seemed to get lower and deeper into the mountain. There were less civilians and more shinobi moving about. They had no need for the bridges as the blew past us running and jumping from place to place on the sides of the mountain-buildings. We exited the bridge into the structure it was connected to. I say structure because unlike the buildings which had 'windows' carved out of them this one did not. It was completely shut off minus the entrance. We were stopped by shinobi when we entered, who wore black porcelain masks with red streaks going through each of the eyes. They wore all black down to the flack jacket the only thing of color that was worn was a blood red cloak that clipped in front just below the neck. I looked closer at the mask to see a number in red as well; one read 33, the other 98. I wondered what did those numbers mean? Was it to rank them from best to worst? Or maybe there was a more sinister reason like their respective body counts.

"State your business," #33 said fiercely.

"I'm here to see #7, tell her #9 wishes to speak with her," my mother responded.

Both shinobi disappeared in flash and then deafening silence the kind that makes you nervous, because you know people were here but your senses have no way to prove the theory correct. My instincts kicked in and I jumped forwards and turned to see a figure dressed the same as the other shinobi standing there. Their arm was almost in the same spot my neck would have been.

"Oh, so he sensed me huh?"

The figure removed their mask to show a almost identical clone to my mother. The same grey colored eyes, long black hair with a tinge of a purple if the light hit it just right. Her nose was small and short, thin eyebrows sat on top of her eyes and as I looked closer I could see freckles they would go unnoticed otherwise.

"Don't scare him Akako, it's your first time meeting him and you want to rub him the wrong way already?"

"Hehe, I was just having a bit of fun relax Onee-chan you're too uptight," she said flashing her teeth with a large grin. "So what did you want to see me about?"

"I need your help training Yuudai before he goes to the academy, I'm coming back to my position in the force and his dad is gone for a mission so-"

"Nope, I ain't doing it," Akako said. My mother looked at her with a critical eye.

"Why not?" my mother asked.

"Because, he's not my responsibility I didn't give birth to him you did,"

"What does that have to do with anything?! He's your nephew!" my mother exclaimed.

"Why should I give up my training time to train your kid? He's only going to the academy right? He can train pretty much on his own for that," Akako said with a sigh. "Anyways if that's all you came for then you have my answer now leave, I'd like to get some sleep here soon,"

Damn this was my aunt?! I mean I've heard of family being ruthless to each other but this was pass ruthlessness. I don't even know this woman hell she doesn't even know me and yet… she rejected me like I was so far beneath her that I wasn't even worth her time.

"So that's it huh? I'm not worth your time?" I said softly. I felt their gazes land on me.

"Basically kid, it's not personal I just have better things to do," Akako said. "Besides what good does training you do when you'll just go off and die out there anyways, I don't sense anything great about you at all. You're not special not like your mother was or myself hell even your father had a bit of talent. You however I just don't see it and I have a good eye for talent,"

My heart constricted in anger. She was passing judgement on me and my abilities and she hasn't witness them herself. If she doesn't want to train me that's but don't-

"Don't judge me when you don't even know me," I said walking towards her. "If you don't want to help with my training that's fine, but-" I stood right across from her looking up into her eyes defiantly. "Don't you dare write me off as a failure before I've even been given the chance to fail, you don't have that right,"

Akako got down to my level without breaking eye contact.

"Oh, so little Yuudai here thinks he can speak to his elders any kind of way, Onee-chan you need to discipline your child more," before I could react she gripped my cheeks with her thumb and index fingers. "But I like that look in your eyes just now; full of fire and indignation but you'll need more than that should you want me to acknowledge you. If you think I'm wrong then prove it have your Okaa-chan sign you up for the academy today,"

"Akako! Absolutely not!" my mother yelled.

"The boy has to grow up sometime, let him be a man and make his own decisions" Akako countered. "So what will it be little Yuudai are you going to rise to the challenge or continue to suckle on your mother's bosom?"

What will it be? I knew this would make my journey that much more difficult. I had no prior shinobi training, I could pull off the basics with my chakra if you could call enhancing senses 'basic'. I didn't know any ninjutsu, or genjutsu and had no practice in taijutsu I was as green as it got when it came to being a shinobi. However none of that mattered not now, the challenge issued, the die-cast and I'll be damned if I run from a challenge.

"Fine I'll go to the next class and show you Oba-chan, that doubting me is bad for your health,"

She grinned and looked over her shoulder.

"You hear that Onee-chan? You son wants to enroll into the next class at the academy surely you will allow him to attend right?"

My mother was silent.

"Okaa-chan?"

She moved and snagged my forearm and began dragging me with her. We started back the way we came but began to head further west. We soon left the center of the village and entered a more remote part. I would say it was like the village suburbs I didn't have a chance to really see this place because my mother was still dragging me around and I was barely keeping up. Eventually we stopped in front of a huge stone building, It looked like a high school. It was at least five stories high and had a huge courtyard filled with kids practicing their aim with kunai and shuriken. My mother began to walk forward and I slowly followed her. The kids never even glanced in our direction too wrapped up in their own training to even notice us. Once we entered the building she made a left and we began to walk down the hall but this hall was lined with pictures. I looked closely to read what the plaque said that was placed under the frame, in black and gold lettering it read 'top of the class'. Soon I laid eyes on a picture of my aunt's younger self, and right after her was my mother. I could say that time has been good to my mother she really didn't look much different today.

We stopped right in front a door opening with the sign that read office.

"Yuudai, I am only going to ask you this once, are you sure you want to do this? Once I enroll you there will be no going back,"

This was it man if you want to chicken out now is the time… the last time.

"I'm sure Okaa-chan, I can understand that you wanted me to be prepared before coming here but life is about challenges. This is my first hurdle if I can't do this the way I am now then like Oba-san said I'll just run off and get myself killed,"

I wasn't going to run. No not here I haven't ran from anything in my life I wasn't going to start being a coward in another life.

"Okay, don't regret this later," she said softly and entered the room. My mother was greeted with respect by the faculty, sama or sensei was used when addressing her. She quickly laughed them off and got down to the point of her visit. They all looked at me puzzled about why I wanted to join the academy at such a young age.

"Yuko-sama, with all due respect your son is too young the kids he'll be placed with are three years older than him," a woman said.

"That is fine, if he fails out it will be his own fault for attempting something beyond his current skill level," she said. They looked at each other and then sent a woman to retrieve the paperwork for enrollment. Once my enrollment was complete I was ushered by one of the faculty down the hall and into a locker room.

"What am I doing here? Shouldn't I be in a classroom or something?" I asked. The staff member in question who was a male looked over his shoulder.

"You have to pass the entrance exam first kid, we don't have time to waste on people with no talent," he said. "There is a uniform in the locker there change into and head through the door in front of ya," and he walked out. Great an entrance exam this was going to be fun.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

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The outfit was nothing but a white shirt with the hidden stone's insignia on it in black and red shorts that cut off above the knee. I made my way through the door and entered a large room that looked like it could be a gym, however this room had a fighting ring in the center. As I looked around the room there were benches carved from the stone itself with steps in between the rows all around the ring. I had to say it was impressive how these people carved stone in such ways. Once I climbed the stairs and walked into the center of the ring and began to wait for my instructor.

Soon I heard footsteps coming from the same direction I had come from. What came into view next was underwhelming. The man who brought me here was walking behind a boy who looked around the same age as me maybe a year older. Now the boy in question had a mop of silver white hair with deep dark brown almost black eyes. His skin, toned but still pale which lead me to believe he wasn't the son of a worker or of a lower-born family like myself. He wore the same outfit that I had on, I guess these were like the academy's workout uniforms or something to that respect.

"Now then let's get this over with, listen kid your entrance exam will be simple all you have to do is last five minutes in a fight with Jin here,"

Easy? Try a waste of time, how tough could this kid be? Five minutes? This will be a cakewalk.

"Okay sounds good to me," I said.

"Sensei, why am I wasting my time on this runt?" Jin asked. "I have class in a bit,"

"Then end this quickly I don't really care Jin," the man said. "Now get ready,"

We both settled into a fighting stance mines had to look like I was an amature because I could see the smirk on my opponent's face.

"Begin!"

Jin disappeared and in that same second was driving his knee into my gut. The pain from that blow was excruciating but he wasn't done. I began to receive and barrage of punches and kicks, some I tried to dodge I was putting everything I had into this task of dodging and I just couldn't. He was too fast I wasn't able to keep up, I took an elbow to the side of the temple knocking me to the ground.

"Tch, that was fast kid didn't even last a minute,"

I was in shock but I couldn't quit I asked for this. I began to push myself up I could feel the blood oozing from my head and dropping on the ground and my shirt. I wasn't done yet I was still breathing as long as I was alive I wasn't quitting.

"Oh, sensei look he's standing looks like he'll last a bit longer can we keep going?" Jin asked.

"Fine, just don't kill him, I don't think you want incur the wrath of the queen of battle,"

"Oh, she wouldn't be a problem after all I'm part of the main house of the Tsu clan," Jin responded.

My head was pounding and I was a bit dizzy. I needed a new strategy one that could keep me out of the line of fire for a bit. Jin came at me again but this time I jumped back and away from his kick. He was on top of me again throwing punches and I put my arms up and began to tank the blows, before moving myself clear of his reach. Now my arms felt like lead from blocking all those attacks. The onslaught was unending I would clear his range only to be struck from my flank or behind. His attacks were well thought-out and he was adapting to any plan I had to stay away from his most damaging blows. I was out-classed.

He launched another combo fainting a right straight and as I put my guard up he slammed his foot into my chest knocking the wind out of me and again I hit the ground. This time it was harder to get up, my body was aching all over. Everything hurt _EVERYTHING_ , but I caught my breath and got on my feet again.

"Man you must like getting beat up or something, I'd just stay down if I were you," Jin said. I spat blood out as a response. Knowing how much time had passed would be a nice consolation prize for this beating I was receiving, oh well I just have to keep fighting. Jin moved after me again but now I was kinda getting used to the speed of his attacks. To explain what was going on was impossible but it's like my mind was slowing things down for me and my senses were getting sharper. I slipped a hook and closed the distance and aimed for his ribcage but he slapped my arm out of place and clocked me right in the jaw. My leg went limp for a second but I caught myself and kept myself up.

"Man you're a tough kid, hey sensei how much time does he have left?" Jin asked.

"Two more minutes,"

God, two more minutes?! I don't know if I can last that long. My vision was blurring and some black spots were beginning to appear. It was a task to keep myself upright, my head was pounding and my mouth was swelling bad. Not to mention the cut I received earlier was still throbbing painfully and I was still losing blood at a quick rate. Hell I'm surprised I'm still conscious, either this body of mine was built to take this kind of abuse or I'm merely standing off willpower alone.

"Hey kid, just call it quits you can comeback next year, no point in killing yourself it obvious you are not-"

"NO!" I shouted. I said no but oh my mind did entertain that notion of quitting, it was like the devil whispering in Eve's ear 'go ahead and take a bite of the apple you know you want to'. My body wanted to quit hell my mind was close to quitting too but for some odd reason deep down I knew if I quit here then I might as well kill myself, I wouldn't survive in the shinobi world. "I asked for this and I'm going to see this through all the way to the end no matter what happens, if I die here then so be it but I will not quit, so come at Jin like you are trying to kill me I won't accept anything less!" I yelled. I wasn't trying to sound cool or anything but that's how I felt if I passed this test I wanted to earn it not have it given to me.

"Heh, alright kid don't blame me for what happens to you," Jin said before bolting after me. I readied myself steeled my resolve and blocked his fist, then a kick came I ducked and went for a leg sweep he dodged with a backflip. While he was still airborne I tried to kick him which I regretted as he grabbed my foot and rotated me with him and slammed me on the ground right before landing. That knocked me for a loop but I forced myself back up spitting out blood again and what looked like a tooth or a piece of it. I lunged back at Jin who started to dodge all my attacks, slipping punches with ease like it was second nature. All I did was tire myself trying to land a blow and if I wasn't careful his next attack would knock me out cold if he landed it.

"Man your not bad, but this is where it ends," Jin said. He charged at me and judging by his body language he was telegraphing a punch, or so I thought when I put my guard up to block it he dropped his center of mass low and came up with a kick. It slipped right through my forearms and connected with my chin sending me straight up into the air. I felt him appear behind me and went for an elbow that was blocked and he jabbed me in the face. He then rotated my body and grabbed both my legs and he began to spin us.

"Sorry kid," he said before launching me back down to earth. In that split second I made a decision before impact and prayed it would work. I relaxed my body and used the force he threw me with and got my legs towards the ground, god this was gonna hurt but fuck it. I hit the ground with my feet and heard the snapping of bones I started to collapse but caught myself with myself with my arms and held my upper body up. I bit my lip as a counter to the pain which was assaulting my senses.

"Sensei how much time do I have left?" I asked. He was dazed for second still staring at me before glancing down.

"Fifteen seconds," he said.

My arms were at muscle failure so I rolled over so I could just sit seeing as I sacrificed my legs just so I could stay conscious after that last attack.

"Whoa kid, how did you manage to break the fall?" Jin asked as he walked up to me.

"With my legs, it evenly distributes the impact and splits it in half however you'll break something doing it," I huffed out.

"Why didn't you just enhance your body with chakra? That would have prevented that," Jin said

"I… don't know actually," I said.

Jin let out a snort before laughing hysterically. I couldn't laugh I was too busy trying to stay conscious.

"Times up,"

Once he said that I allowed the darkness to take me into oblivion

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Waking up out of unconsciousness is always a weird and jarring event one minute you are aware if everything that is going on around you, the next you are waking up in a completely different situation. At first I tried to move to see what state my body was in. First I moved my fingers and felt soft cloth, I pushed down lightly and my fingers sunk in. No point in wiggling my toes my legs were busted from the fight, I cracked my eyes open and saw darkness and it wasn't just because the lights were out.

How long was I out for?

I tried to sit up and regretted the decision quickly as dulled pain shot through my back and I plopped back down into the bed. There were curtains surrounding me it looked like I was in the nurse's office or an infirmary.

"Hello is anyone there?" I asked. Nothing. It was weird at night in the land of earth. There was no noise at night like crickets playing their nighttime tune, or owls hooting at the moon. No just the wind howling and whipping through the mountains. Which made nighttime here a bit unsettling for me and I hated places that were too quiet. Suddenly the lights came on and the curtain surrounding my bed was pulled back to reveal a middle aged woman and a group of kids.

"Oh you're awake huh? Well this may be a bit more painful for you," she said before turning back to the group. "Alright class today you'll have a bit of practical exercise our dummy here has broken both of his legs, well more like caused multiple micro fractures throughout his entire lower half. As medical ninja you have to prevent any more harm coming to the patient and at the same time heal them and get them back into the fight as quickly as possible,"

Woah wait a damn minute.

"Excuse me sensei, your not gonna let these kids attempt to heal me are you?" I asked.

"Of course I am," she said turning back to me. "It's not everyday someone injures themselves like you did this will be great training for them,"

"NO!" I exclaimed. They laughed.

"What choice do you have?" someone said.

"Yeah it's not like you can run away,"

They had a point. Still I didn't want some kids in medical training trying to fix me but what choice did I have? One by one they came up and each began to heal me. They started at my right foot and began what I assumed to be the tedious process of mending my broken bones. The kid's faces wrinkled in concentration as they set the bones back in their proper place and began to heal them. Each attempt grew my confidence in them as I virtually felt no pain as they did their work. Before I knew it I had dozed off again.

I thought next time I would awaken I'd be in much better shape. Then I felt a jolt and jerked away from the person on my left where the pain came from.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you in pain," came a female voice.

I gritted my teeth.

"Doc, I think your student is screwing something- argh," I ground out. The woman move quickly and pushed her student away and finished her work. The pain subsided and I was able to relax again.

"Aoi! How many times must I tell you to pay attention to your work?!" The woman scolded.

"I'm sorry sensei, I'll do better next time,"

"I've told you numerous times in this line of work there is no such thing as a next time! What if this was a heart complication? Or pneumothorax?"

The teacher continued her verbal assault. The girl; Aoi looked more and more deflated with each passing insult.

"Excuse me sensei, don't you think that's enough? I think you've made your point," I said.

"You be quiet," she snapped back.

"But insulting her isn't going to get her to perform better, in fact it will do the opposite she's still a human being," I shot back.

"Oh and what do you know about teaching? Hmmm do you have any experience to backup your claims?" She said turning towards me. I did I was a former sergeant in the army. Leadership, mentoring, teaching, these words were the cornerstone of my life at one point. I knew the kind of person Aoi was and she wouldn't respond well to what I called 'yelling correction'.

"No but that's what my father told me," I said.

She scoff at my statement and finished my treatment and order her students out and back to their classroom.

"A little piece of advice for you kid, you shouldn't involve yourself in everyone's problems it will get you in trouble here, I'll be back shortly to fit you for your casts,"

With that she left shutting the lights back off. Her words echoed in my head before I shoved them to the back of my mind.

"Tch, tell me something I don't already know," I whispered. I rolled over and faced the ceiling and let out a sigh. I moved my legs a bit and felt the pain shoot through me telling me not to do that again. I'm such an idiot why did I try to break my fall like this I mean I survived my entrance exam but now I'll be bedridden until further notice and probably have to be pushed around in a wheelchair for the foreseeable future.

Which was detrimental to my development as a shinobi because even with excellent treatment it would be a six month process of rehab and getting my legs strong enough to hold me up and walk, let alone move at shinobi speeds or at least thats what would make sense. Oh well no point crying over spilled milk I need to focus on what's next; graduation.

The lights flicked back on and the curtains were pulled back to reveal Jin.

"Sup kid, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"Better I'm not in pain or anything," I responded. "However I'm not looking forward to the rehab,"

"Yeah, but you'll be back in action in a month or two,"

Wait…what?

"That sounds rather...um fast,"

"Trust me this is minor compared to some of the injuries seen here,"

Again...what?

"What do you mean?"

"Oh man you should see some of the things that happen in taijutsu class, ruptured lungs, broken arms in like five different ways, nasty dislocations. It gets ugly sometimes, which brings me to my question, what brings a squirt like you here so early?"

"Am I really here before I'm supposed to?"

"Are you stupid or just pretending to be? Kids don't enter the academy until at least five years old sometimes as late a six, you're four,"

"I don't recall telling you my age," I said eyeing the boy.

"Well of course I know how old you are Yuudai, we come from the same clan, plus everyone knows the Queen of Battle's son,"

"Ok ok I'm confused. Clan? Queen of Battle? What are you talking about?"

Jin looked lost for a second before bursting out into laughter.

"Hahaha, oh man you really don't know anything do you? Man you're a weirdo and an idiot who would have thought, but I guess it's the senpai's job to teach the kouhai. Listen up because I don't like to repeat myself,"

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"That about covers it you pick all that up?" Jin asked.

"Um, yeah I think I got it," I said unconvincingly. Oh well if I can't retain all that info someone will remind me later.

"I hope so, as much as I'd like to keep talking with you I have to get going, got class coming up,"

I just nodded. Jin turn to leave.

"Oh, by the way that was good fight we had. Your battle sense is impressive especially for someone with no prior training, I hope we can fight again,"

"Be careful what you wish for," I said.

"Don't get cocky, you still have to recover and master basic shinobi arts you're way behind me and others in our class, but you got potential. Oh also if it's not a one on one conversation between us call me Jin-sama,"

"Why?"

"Because I'm the heir of the Tsu clan idiot were you not listening? Alright later man,"

With that Jin exited the room. Which left me with a lot to think about. I was currently in a very peculiar position, I was the son of the Queen of Battle. Which meant there were expectations of me right out the gate to be a legendary shinobi. That was unsettling because I had a small margin for failure if I couldn't surpass my mother I'd never get out of her shadow.

Which gave me a goal. I'll be honest up to this point I had no real resolve to be a shinobi. I figured because it ran in the family I might as well not be the one to rock the boat. Now I had a goal and I knew what I had to do to achieve that goal. It wasn't going to be easy but that what made it fun the fact that it wouldn't just be handed to me. I was beginning to like my new world already, high stakes high rewards. All you had to do was pretty much survive in a world where everything is trying to kill you and if you can manage that and improve your skills and knowledge quickly then there wouldn't be many who would oppose you. The key thing was surviving which I'm currently 0-1 all time right now.

What really had me on edge was the fact that Jin only talked about what my mom did during the second great shinobi war not once did he mention the third. I'm not overthinking this but if the second war ended a little over a decade ago then that means the third should be right around the corner. The irony was incredible I just died in my old world fighting in a war only to come here and get thrusted into another one.

"Man God has a sick sense of humor," I said after I finished chuckling.

Oh well nothing you can do about it but prepare for it. I wasn't talented in a lot of things but war was my forte. I'll show them that.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

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I was finally at my wits end, I was sick of being in this infirmary. I was usually alone unless it was time for me to receive my check up on how fast I was healing. I was on track but I was falling behind everyone else in my class thanks to my stupid decision to break my fall with my legs. This isolation was driving me up a wall though, I mean I'm a human being I naturally want to socialize. Unfortunately that just wasn't in the cards for me.

I think the worst part of it was the silence. Other than when the kids would walk pass in the hallways it was quiet. This made me wish I had an mp3 player or a radio something to get rid of the silence. Man I really miss technology only in the aspect that it could keep you busy and entertained for hours on end and you only sat in silence because you wanted to. This world however it was back to the old ways of keeping yourself entertained; your imagination.

I just wanted some music so I began to rack my brain for some songs from my old world to sing. I know I wasn't the best singer but dammit I need something to take the edge off before I go insane. I began to hum a familiar beat to one of my favorite songs.

" I'm gonna fight 'em all

A seven nation army couldn't hold me back

They're gonna rip it off

Taking their time right behind my back

And I'm talking to myself at night

Because I can't forget

Back and forth through my mind

Behind a cigarette

And the message coming from my eyes

Says leave it alone"

I continued humming the beat but this time I was adding a bit of beatbox to put a bit of a new twist to the melody.

"Don't want to hear about it

Every single one's got a story to tell

Everyone knows about it

From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell

And if I catch it coming back my way

I'm gonna serve it to you

And that ain't what you want to hear

But that's what I'll do

And the feeling coming from my bones

Says find a home,"

Now I was really getting into it. My head was bobbing to the beat that I was creating. I wasn't even in the room anymore mentally, I was in my own world. Completely oblivious to the world around me.

"I'm going to Wichita

Far from this opera for evermore

I'm gonna work the straw

Make the sweat drip out of every pore

And I'm bleeding, and I'm bleeding, and I'm bleeding

Right before the lord

All the words are gonna bleed from me

And I will sing no more

And the stains coming from my blood

Tell me go back home"

I really got into this last part of the melody. Weaving the sounds together to try and make it sound just like it would if I was listening to the actual song. After the last note I came back to my senses.

"That felt great," I said to myself. It sounded weird in japanese but hey it got rid of the silence for a while.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt,"

I jumped away from the voice to the other edge of the bed, and regretted the sudden movement as pain shot through my body. My heart was pounding like I had just finished a marathon. I looked at the person who was standing next to my bed, and recognized her. It was that girl Aoi and now that I got a good look at her she was pretty easy on the eyes. Long silk-like black hair that shone in the light, large dark blue-black irises. A round face shape, a skinny build and she wasn't very tall.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, yes what can I do for you?" I said with a nervous chuckle.

The air around us felt suffocating, partly due to her personality and my awkwardness.

"Well, um, I've been sent to retrieve you and take you to your classes," she said quietly.

I looked down to her right and there was a wheelchair. Well at least I would get out of this room. I nodded and slid over to the edge of the bed and she helped me into the chair. She pushed me out of the room and into the hallway. No words were exchanged at first just awkward silence.

"So, uh how'd you like my singing?" I asked. "Don't lie either,"

"Um, I can definitely say it's not the worst I've ever heard but you shouldn't try to make a career out of it," she said softly.

"Well I guess I can settle for average," I said.

"I never said it was that good,"

Ouch.

"Why must you do this to me? Your words pierced right through my heart," I said while grabbing a hold of my chest. Aoi began to giggle, there we go no more awkward silence.

"I just don't want you getting your hopes up is all," she said.

"Hehe, don't worry I'm somewhat of a realist,"

We reached the classroom that I assumed was mines. Aoi knocked on the door and a man with a large scar going from the edge of his lip to his ear answered.

"What you lot want?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Aoi slightly bowed.

"Oba-sensei this is Yuudai, he has been assigned to your class and I will be his caretaker until his injuries have healed," she said.

"Oh so your the kid that broke both his legs in the entrance exams huh?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah that's me hehehe," I chuckled nervously.

Oba face palmed and mumbled something under his breath before letting us in.

Aoi wheeled me to the front of the class and turned me to face them. The classroom like everything in the village was expertly carved from stone. The desks were lined like a lecture hall would be in college and they were made out of black marble from the looks of it, and gave the room a nice touch of grace to the rather grey and boring stone that surround it.

"Alright brats listen up, this is Yuudai he'll be joining us from now on. I'm not going to tell you to be nice to 'em but don't burn bridges before you can build 'em, kid you got anything to say?"

"No, I look forward to working with all of you," I said and gave a head bow. I was then moved to the edge of the tables to the right and Aoi sat next to me. Class resumed without missing a beat, apparently they were going over military shinobi movements and small team tactics. I was interested at first that was until I realized how ineffective Iwa's tactics were. They threw bodies at their targets and they do it in waves and try to overwhelm their enemies. Which causes a lot of casualties more than necessary and judging by this I could say that Iwa could lose 35-45% of their manpower win the war and consider that a success. If you break it down to the the squad level that means that in a three man cell one maybe two will survive, in a five man cell which is Iwa's typical cell make-up only three are going home alive.

That is simply unacceptable.

Not only is it a barbaric way of fighting it's predictable. In war being predictable is deadly and you will lose ten times out of ten. Well I see that Iwa's needs new tactics that's one thing I can put on my list of improves. No wonder these people lost two wars.

"Yuudai, can you answer my question to the class?"

I snapped back into reality, I hadn't been paying attention at all what were we even talking about?

"Um can you repeat the question sensei,"

Oba-sensei's eyes darkened.

"So… you weren't paying attention?!" he yelled.

Aoi flinched slightly.

"No, I was but I was thinking of some different tactics that could be used in the situation we are discussing," I said. I was stalling trying to read over the board and find what it was we were talking about last.

"Oh well enlighten us then,"

Now I had put myself in a difficult spot. I was acting way too smart for my age of four. Which in turn could put unwanted attention on myself. It was hard to act like a four year old but have well over two decades of life experience and five years of military experience. I was unconsciously speaking when I tried to defend my zoning out. Great. I need to be more cautious around the adults. For now I need to dig myself out of this hole.

"Well for starters the current tactic that we use is ineffective for dealing with shinobi squads especially those that have worked together for a long time, or ones who have fought with us in the past. For example if the typical Iwa shinobi cell is five and Konoha's is three then obviously we have a numbers advantage but that doesn't mean we can attack them head on by popping out from a hiding spot. Any shinobi would be expecting that," I said.

Oba-sensei's eyebrows shot up. He was listening now.

"So what do you think is lacking here?"

"The true element of surprise and deception," I said.

"Elaborate," he said.

"Well in my mind if I have the numbers advantage I want my enemy to believe that they have the advantage, simple if you want to set up a ambush were no one gets away you have to trick your enemy into thinking that they are in control. Give them a false sense of security, and then just when they think they have you, flip the tables on them. Can I come up to the board?"

He waved me up. Aoi stood to push me up there but I shooed her away.

Once up there I began to draw my diagram. It was similar to one that I was taught in my old life but I put a bit of a twist on it so it can relate to this world's operations.

"So say you have a three man cell here, and your five man cell is here we'll say 1500m away from each other, three or if you have a good fighter on your side four of the members will break off and conceal themselves. In this moment the ones left behind have to sell this fact to the enemy that it is just them and no one is coming to save them, so they will retreat or move in the direction of the killzone that has already been pre-established, once that occurs and the enemy gets into that killzone you spring the trap but only at the last possible second. To further maximize this its best if terrain is thought about as well. Your ideal spots to make your killzone are natural choke points, ones that confines the enemy's travel in only a few directions and you want to control each of those points to prevent escape,"

The board was covered in my bad drawings but it got the point across. I looked a my teacher who looked at me with leveled eyes suspicious even.

"And that sensei is how I would execute an ambush with 100% efficiency" I said with a smile.

"Boy, where did you learn tactics like that I've never even heard of such a maneuver," he asked.

"Found it in one of my father's notebooks laying around the house, I don't know if he's ever used it but it made sense to me, " I said. It wasn't a lie but it wasn't all truth either that was an old guerrilla war tactic from the old world. My father did have notebooks full of tactics that he was working on but none of them were this elaborate, again Iwa tries to overwhelm their opponent not out maneuver them. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing in fact in some situations it's the right thing to do, however not when it comes to ambushes.

Looking into Oba-sensei's eyes I could tell he wasn't buying my half-lie. I'll be screwed if this goes any further.

"Can I return to my desk sensei?" I asked. He nodded and I began to roll my wheelchair back to my seat. I could feel the stares from the other kids, they were piercing and blatant. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable even Aoi was looking at me with slight suspicion. Congratulations Yuudai you have now officially marked yourself as abnormal.

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Lunch time rolled around and I was starving. Aoi was pushing me towards the cafeteria weaving us in and out of people traffic in the hallway. Once we entered the cafeteria it was glaringly obvious which side was for the main houses and which side was for us. The left side tables were made from what looked like white marble and the food looked like it was something cooked by chefs of the highest caliber. On the right were tables made of the same grey stone as the mountains and the food didn't look terrible but it certainly wasn't on the level of the food they were eating. Aoi pushed me to a table and place between two short stools of stone that looked like they sprouted out of the ground.

"I'll be right back, ok?" Aoi said and took of towards the counter to get our meals. Again my mind drifted into my own world. I didn't even notice my chair moving away from the table. By the time I realized what was happening I was being dumped onto the ground. Laughter rang out all around me as I collected myself on the ground.

"I'm sorry man, I didn't see you sitting there," said a voice full of sarcasm. Oh yeah of course you didn't. I turned to see a group of kids I've never seen before. The boy who was holding the handles of my chair was big for his age he definitely didn't look six or seven years old. He had a short sandy brown hair which contrasted with the emerald green eyes. He sported the same academy uniform like the rest of us.

I chuckled I don't know if it was out of anger or actual amusement. One of the other kids approached me.

"Need a hand?" He said reaching out to me. I grabbed his hand and he helped me halfway up before pushing me back down. They all busted out laughing again at my expense. I should have seen that coming though these people have no intentions of helping me and neither does anyone else.

I looked at the kids and scoffed.

"You guys are pathetic, getting enjoyment out of picking on someone who can't fight back," I said.

The big kid grabbed me by my shirt and lifted me up, high enough my feet couldn't touch the ground.

"Mind repeating that punk? Do you know who your talking to?" He asked.

"No and I don't care to," I spat.

He cocked back to punch me and I braced for the impact.

"Ryojin!"

He stopped inches away from my face. We both looked over to see the teacher of the medical nins standing there hands on her hips and a very disappointing look slapped on her face.

"Now I do believe that the academy rules state that all fights are to take place on the training grounds or in the arena, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," he ground out.

"Does this look like any of those goddamn places to you?! Put him down now and come with me!"

Ryojin dropped me to the floor.

"This isn't over," he whispered harshly towards me and walked off. Aoi came running to my side and helped me back into my wheelchair. She shooed off the other kids in Ryojin's clique and sat down.

"You seem to be a magnet for trouble," she said. She took a bite of a small brown sphere and I watched her face light up with delight.

"Funny thing is I like to avoid trouble if at all possible, and what the heck are you eating?" I asked.

"You never had a rock rice cake before?" she asked. I shook my head no, she immediately passed me one from her small pile. "You've got to try one it will change your life," she said with excitement.I picked up the disk shaped object, looked at it then glanced at Aoi. "Go on," she said.

I shrugged my shoulders, what's the worst that could happen? I took a bite and tasted the crispy texture of the cake which was then replaced with the firm but soft feel of a marshmallow. The sweet taste of the red bean paste came next filling me to the brim with sweet satisfaction. I quickly threw the rest of the cake into my mouth and just enjoyed the flavors that washed over my tongue.

"That's not too bad," I said. Aoi nodded in agreement. "I don't think I'd put it on life changing level though, now my mom's cooking that's life changing,"

Aoi scoffed at this.

"Your taste buds are just unrefined is all,"

"Or maybe you just have too much of a sweet tooth," I said while a chuckle shook my shoulders.

"So can I ask you a question Yuudai?"

"Sure," I said. Aoi gulped down the bite she had just took before continuing.

"How did you learn that tactic? I know you said it was out of your father's notebook but I don't see how you would be able to comprehend what it was that you were looking at. I mean I don't mean to pry but it just seems a bit weird," she said before taking another bite. I was frustrated by my own actions of course no four-year old would be able to understand war tactics, what's worse was I had put on full display my advance intelligence on the matter.

True talent is the ability to hide one's talent away from others. As much as I hate to admit it I am a terrible actor and even worse liar. There was no way to explain what happened in the classroom away easily, nor was there a reasonable way to curve the conversation in my favor,

"I don't know," I said. This was my only option.

"How do you not know?" Aoi asked.

"I just don't, so can we please drop this, I don't feel good talking about it, makes me feel weird,"

Aoi still eyed me for a moment before going back to her cakes. I guess there's one thing that followed me from my old life; the ability to put myself in bad situations. I needed to learn to think before I act, especially in this world. People here like to and will pry into your life if you give them the chance, or reasonable suspicion to do so. Trusting people here prematurely would lead to my death, and dying isn't a pleasant experience so to avoid that I'll have to keep my mouth shut.

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My physical therapy began a few weeks into my days at the academy. My mornings would begin earlier than everyone else with Aoi knocking on my room door crutches in hand. We would move slowly to the staircase that leads to the classrooms from the boys side of the dorms. I would walk up and down these stairs numerous times before we would move into some resistance exercises. Much to my dismay this was the most painful part of therapy.

Pushing my foot against her hand while she lightly gave resistance was by far the worst for me. I knew it was helping me get my strength back so I could fully get into my shinobi training, but I wish we could skip this part of recovery. About 10 minutes into the exercise I was spent.

"Yuudai, give me your left leg next," Aoi asked.

"Can we not and say we did?"

"Quit being a baby," she snapped.

I lifted my leg and she grasped hold of it and pushed my knee to a ninety degree angle and we began. I would gunt when I push against her and suck air when we went back to the start position.

"It can't be that bad," she said.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one in pain," I said through a grunt.

"Well we've only been at this for a few days, it will get easier as we go along. You want to be able to train without fear of injury right?"

"Of course, I'm falling behind everyone else"

I was miles behind. These kids were already learning basic ninjutsu and taijutsu combinations. With each session the kids in my class were improving. Me? Oh I was stuck on the sidelines. The only physical thing I could participate in was throwing practice and my aim was horrible. I really was starting to doubt my chances of actually becoming a shinobi at this rate.

"Yuudai!"

"Y-yes?" I stammered out. I need to quit spacing out.

"You didn't even hear me huh?"

"No, I'm sorry I was daydreaming,"

"Of course you were, I asked why do you want to be a shinobi,"

Heh, good question why did I want to be a person who lies, cheats, and kill people on impulse? When I was in the army I use to ask myself why was I a soldier. Was it because I was too stupid to do anything else? Or maybe I just enjoyed combat. During the war I felt like this was were I was meant to be like I just belonged there. I guess I had a warrior's spirit simple as that.

"Right now, I guess for the thrill of the lifestyle,"

"So the chance that you could die any day is a thrill for you?" She asked. "You do realize the chances of you dying are extremely high right?,"

"I use that as motivation because if I make it that means I'm better than those that didn't, I trained harder, studied more, and was more committed than they were. As sick as it sounds it the truth," I said.

People may not want to hear it but that is what life boils down to; survival of the fittest. We humans are not immune to this fact but we like to pretend that we are because we are not the lion or the gazelle. We rationalize our shortcomings, tell ourselves that if we fail it just wasn't meant to be. We lie to ourselves everyday just to make the sting of failure a little less painful. I am no exception of this either but I understand the concept and accept it.

"I don't think it's sick," Aoi said as she let my leg go. I place my feet on the ground and sat up. "I just see your outlook interesting, there are worse people in the world with an equally worse outlook than yours,"

"What about you why do you want to be a shinobi?" I asked. "Ack! What you flick me for?!" I exclaimed as I held my forehead.

"Because juniors shouldn't question their senpai's motives in life," she said. "You need to learn to respect your elders and betters like Ryojin you know he's the son of the current head of the Ko clan right?"

"So what? I'm not going to let him bully me without me saying something about it," I said. "I'm not scared of him,"

Aoi let out a breath.

"Ok I've been keeping them at bay but when I'm no longer your caretaker then what will you do?"

"well I'll cross that bridge when I get there,"

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Classes today was torture because we were going over village history. I loved history didn't make it any less boring and the only reason I loved history was because of that old saying. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. So as we sat in class Oba-sensei proceeded to kill us of boredom from the beginning of recorded time; the period of warring states. This was a bloody time but also a time when when the term and use of genjutsu was first recorded.

Of course the first genjutsu user was an Uchiha and thanks to the sharingan they were one of the dominant forces during that time. The land of earth's clans were also not very kind to each other. They slaughtered each other for decades before the Kamizuru clan came into power thanks to the first Tsuchikage and brought the other clans to heel. Those clans were the ones that exist today: the Ko, the Yama, the Suki, and the Tsu.

Not long after the formation of Iwagakure they set their sights on Konohagakure. Thus the beginning of the first shinobi war. Which then dragged in the other villages, this war was over resources. The time period between the first and second war was at best a 20 year period of peace between the nations. However all the nations were strapped for resources and during this time was a period of imperialism.

Of course it wouldn't take long before disputes over territories and boundaries would begin and shinobi are not very diplomatic so to solve the problem they began to kill each other again, but this time it was Konohagakure who made the first move attacking an Iwagakure camp in the land of rain. Which then dragged Amegakure into it. Before you knew it the other nations jumped in if merely to protect their own interests.

Many heroes were made in this war. My mom's name was mentioned briefly as well as the sanin of Konoha. After that war we went over some of the current incidents that have taken place on our western border with the hidden haze village. That lesson right there confirmed for me why Jin didn't mention the third shinobi war. It didn't take place yet and what's worse is that war was the bloodiest in history of Naruto.

I looked around the classroom out the corner of my eyes. These were five and six year old kids, children whose lives have just started and here in god knows when a lot of them will be cut down mercilessly like animals. The third war was bloody because it was a ten year stalemate. Involving all five nations but primarily between Iwa and Konoha. The trigger was unknown to me but I had a gut feeling it wasn't far off. If skirmishes were already breaking out along the borders between minor nations then the storm clouds were already forming and it won't take long for it to grow into a hurricane that will engulf everything.

Would I never know what it's like to lead a peaceful life? Despite my feelings I didn't hate war I saw it as a necessary evil. Like yin and yang peace cannot exist without war because there will always be those who hate the idea of people living together in harmony. Should these people get ahold of the reigns of power they will do everything they can to bring about mayhem and tragedy. You can't reason with these people only cut them down along with their ideas. Then I began to think what was the third shinobi world war about, ideologically wise? Could you even say that it even had an ideology behind it? Were there political disagreements or was it just about settling the score between villages? These were hard questions that as of right now I wouldn't be able to figure out. All I could do was prepare for the inevitable; war. It didn't matter what the war would be about I would be a shinobi and my sole purpose would be to fight and probably die for my village, that's it.

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I decided to skip dinner and turn in early. Well part of it was laziness because the dining hall was clear across the school and on crutches that is at least a fifteen minute full body workout both ways, I just wasn't feeling up to it. So I began to climb the stairs slowly without aid of my crutches. Once at the top of the stairs I spotted a small group near my dorm room.

Jin, and Ryojin were with two others. They weren't in Ryojin's little gang I knew that, so who were they. Slowly began to make my way towards them, as I approached their conversation ceased and all eyes were directed at me. I stopped a few feet from them. The evening sun shone over them dying there features in a orange hue, while I stayed in the coolness of the shadows. The silence was deafening, there was so much emotions being conveyed through body language that words weren't really even needed. I could tell they weren't here to exchange pleasantries or see how I was healing.

Jin made his way to the front of the group.

"Hey kid how's the injuries?" He asked.

"Good I should be fully healed in three weeks," I said shooting Jin a skeptical eye. He saw this and chuckled.

"Relax kid, we aren't here to hurt you," he said. Jin walked behind me and put his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm sure you aren't," I said.

"Really I'm just here to introduce you to your senpai's so if you ever find yourself in need of assistance you know who to go to,"

Oh spare me I knew exactly what this was. We are in a empty hallway in the evening with mostly everyone in the mess hall eating. I'm completely isolated.

"Let's begin look to your left," I did so. "That beautiful girl there with the long dark violet hair is Mikoto-senpai, she the heir to the Suki clan. Best medic in her class might I add so if you ever get hurt or your legs start bothering you and you can't find the nurse come to her. Next is the boy with the dirty blonde hair that's Keita-senpai. He's the Yama clan heir and possesses the explosion release. He's also a great tutor for ninjutsu. Then there is Ryojin-senpai I'm sure you're already acquainted with him,"

I nodded.

"Well if that's all then I must be going," Jin's grip tightened up on my shoulder keeping me in place.

"Woah what's the hurry? You need to learn-"

Jin kicked me behind my knees and brought me down to the ground.

"That your superiors are the ones who dismiss you, got it?"

I kept my head down and didn't respond. Next came a kick from my left that sent me crashing into the wall.

"You speak when spoken to, then and only then should we hear your voice, do you understand?" Mikoto demanded.

"Hai," I spat out as I sat up. A punch smashed into my left cheek, and a hand clasped over my throat. I was brought up and was looking at Keita and the wicked grin he had on his face.

"You may be the son of the Queen of Battle but that doesn't mean we are equals, your a low-born branch member know your place!" Keita yelled.

"Hai,"

Another punch to the face breaks my nose and he drops me. I felt my hair get clumped together and I was forced to look up at Ryojin.

"I told you this wasn't over, now this time there is no one here to save you, now you said some extremely rude things to me a few days ago. I think I deserve an apology,"

I just looked at him with all the disdain I could muster. They will not break my will it would take more than this.

"Well come on don't be shy," Ryojin said.

I spit some blood out of my mouth, and locked eyes with him.

"I'm sorry… that you have to go through this much trouble…" I began.

A smile began to form on Ryojin's face.

"To get the pride that I crushed in your face back," I spat out.

My head was immediately slammed back into the floor and held there.

"You insolent-,"

"Enough!" Jin shouted.

"Hold him up,"

I was picked up and held by my shirt. Which was covered in blood and stretched out.

"Now listen here Yuudai, in this village we have structure, there are some people who rule over others, we are part of that ruling class and you are part of the servant class. That means that you will show us respect, this was a warning next time I won't be so lenient. Do you understand me?"

"H-hai, I got it," I grounded out. I was promptly dropped onto the ground and left there. I listened for their footsteps until there was no sound left in the hallway. I then crawled over to my crutches and used them to stand myself up. I began to make my way over to the girl's side of the dorms. I moved slowly through the halls, I struggled to keep my balance as I looked at the names on the side of the doors. Beads of blood followed behind me making it look like an ominous trail leading to something tragic.

I finally found her room and knocked. Please be in there.

"Coming,"

She was not about to be happy once she saw my face, oh well I need medical attention and I trust her enough to provide me with it.

Aoi swung the door open.

"Yes- Yuudai! What the hell happened to you?! Hurry come in,"

I crutched my way into her room which was filled with books. Two bookcases full, on her desk sat a pestle and mortar with various herbs strewn around it. Her bed was just like mines, bedding supplied by the academy a; a pillow a throw cover and sheets. A three drawer dresser sat in front of the bed.

I heard the door shut behind me and Aoi was in front of me examining my face. She walked to her her desk and reached in the drawer and pulled out a towel and put it right under my nose.

"I don't want my room looking like a murder scene, here sit,"

I sat down on the stool by her desk and held my head back and felt the blood trickle down my throat. Man this was just a warning huh?

"Here let me see your nose,"

I let the towel drop and gave her full view of my nose.

"Yeah it's broken, I'll have to reset it,"

Without saying a word I covered my right hand with the towel and placed my mouth in between the thumb and hand joint.

"Ready?" Aoi asked positioning her hands on my face.

I made a grunt through the towel. Aoi put her thumbs parallel to the bridge and in in one swift motion snapped in back straight. I screamed into the towel as the initial wave of pain hit my nerves. I felt weak as I rode the wave of pain out. Aoi's hand glowed a bright green as she worked on healing the bone that was now properly in place.

"Who did this Yuudai?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it, it's not your problem," I said. Aoi kissed her teeth at me.

"Don't give me that you're my patient and if you keep getting hurt it looks bad on me, plus I know about your situation with Ryojin and I'll assume he's behind this,"

"Believe what you want," I said dismissively. "I can deal with this,"

"Quit being so stubborn! It's obvious you can't, if this was a mission would you behave like this?! Just keep going off on your own you'll just die that way!" Aoi exclaimed.

"Then all I need to do is get strong enough so I don't have to rely on anyone!"

I gripped my pants, my hands were shaking I wanted revenge for this humiliation they just dealt me. Do they really believe that because they are part of the main house they can do this to people? They truly believe that they earned that privilege? Fine I'll let them believe it for now…but today they just made themselves a dangerous enemy.

I needed my legs to heal and that was another two- no, three weeks if I was lucky. I didn't have anymore time to waste I need my lower half back.

"Aoi is there any faster way for my legs to heal?"

She looked at me brow still creased from concentration and irritation.

"Why? So you can go charging after the clan heirs?" She asked in a angry tone.

"No, not at all I just want to get into training and plus you know all of our practical exercises are going to begin soon," I said.

Aoi wasn't convinced and continued her work on my nose without uttering another word.

"Please Aoi, I swear on my life I won't do anything crazy ok? I'll stay outta trouble, I promise,"

Another look of irritation but it wasn't as hard as the last time, I was gaining ground in this fight.

"I'll do anything you want, I'll be your lab rat for medical experiments, I'll clean your room, carry your stuff just name your price,"

"Ahhhgh, alright alright, just stop begging. Yes I know a way but it's one of my families medical practices,"

She stopped healing my nose, and walked over to the bookshelf. Aoi's finger ran over the spines before finding the one she wanted and pulled it off.

"If lady Mikoto finds out I did this I'll be in major trouble,"

Wait.

"Lady Mikoto?"

"Yes, my family is the branch family of the Suki clan, majority of the the village's medical nins come from us, and the clan in general," she explained.

"So, why would you get in trouble if you do what I'm asking?"

"Because I'm not certified, we are taught the basics young and the academy is like our certification course, pass the academy and then we move on into combat medic training, what I'm about to do stems from there,"

I shrugged, not in a dismissive way but because I didn't have any other gesture to use. Aoi walked to her desk and opened her book. She flipped through some pages before stopping and then began to sort through her herbs she had. She collected a few of them and placed them in the mortar and began to grind them.

I sat silently watching her work. I knew I was being unreasonable making her break rules for someone who she barely knew. A month and a half isn't a lot of time and if it was me I would have denied myself.

The sounds of crushing was now becoming mute and replaced with a stirring sound.

"Ok, done," she said. Aoi grabbed a small gord and fill it with some water. Then the slimy contents in the bowl followed. She capped it and turned to me. "Here, drink this when you get to your room before bed, it's not a quick fix but it should cut your recovery time in half,"

I took the the gord.

"Thanks Aoi, I owe you one," I said.

"Don't mention it. Ever," she threatened.

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A\N: Sorry about the late update had alot of things I'm trying to juggle right now and the proofreading is what takes the longest time for me so forgive me hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you guys again soon… until next time my friends.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

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There was a loud knock on my door which stirred me out of my sleep. Then banging followed sounded like someone was taking a battering ram to the steel sliding door. The banging is what got me up.

"Who is it?" I asked. Sleep was laced all through my voice.

"Yuudai! Please tell me you haven't been sleeping this whole time!" Aoi's said through the door. I slid the door out of the way and her face was mixed with emotions. I yawned and stretched my lower back until a satisfying pop was heard.

"Yeah, I'm just getting up, guess what you gave me put me out last night," I said nonchalantly.

"You do know it's frigging 4 o'clock in the afternoon right?! You missed an entire day of classes!" She exclaimed. Now that was something to be worried about. "Oba-sensei is mad and is on his way now to check on you,"

"So why are you here then?" I asked.

"To warn you obviously,"

"So you came all this way just to warn me? Aoi that just doesn't make sense," I said as I walked back to my bed. "I told you I won't say a thing so relax and leave otherwise things might look suspicious,"

Aoi stood there for a minute before I heard her feet shuffle to leave. Now I needed to come up with a good enough excuse to get me out of this mess. When nothing came to mind I decided to just tell the truth, what's the worst that could happen of course I would leave out Aoi's little breach of her family's rules.

There was a fierce pounding on my door telling me that my sensei had arrived with all of hell's fury behind him. I slid the door open and bowed.

"Good afternoon Oba-sensei," I said.

"Where were you?" he asked.

Right to the point, not giving me a chance to come up with a solid lie even if I wanted to. Well, too bad sensei.

"I was in my room asleep," I said as I looked him in the eyes to convey my honesty. A slight look of shock flashed across Oba-sensei's face for a split second before disappearing.

"Why?" he asked.

"I overslept," I shot back quickly there wasn't a waver in my voice. "I know what I did was wrong and will accept any punishment you give me,"

Now Oba-sensei what kind of leader are you? Are you one who really cares about rules and regulations and believe that humans can't have a lack of discipline at any point? Or are the type that understands human nature and the fact that no soldier is perfect, that we too despite our heightened expectations and standards will fail to meet those standards that we will stumble but it is your job as the leader to remind us of that and not hold it against us but to encourage us to do and be better through your words and actions. So which one are you Oba-sensei? The stickler who will get people killed by trying to stick to the rules, or are you a true leader one that has men that would follow him to the depths of hell because he told them to.

He let out a sigh.

"Alright, I'll let this one slide, you had best make sure it doesn't happen again, you hear?"

I bowed.

"Of course sensei, this will not happen again thank you for your mercy," I said.

"Whatever kid, get some notes from you classmates for today or not I don't really care," he said and left right after that slamming my door behind him. Well, that went better than I expected, I walked back over to my bed and my crutches caught my attention. Now, why were they still over there? I looked down at my feet and moved my right foot forward, I then moved my left foot to put it parallel to my right, nothing. I did a few different leg exercises and felt not a single bit of pain.

"This can't be right, can it? Aoi said it wouldn't completely heal me," I said out loud. Ok, relax Yuudai there is a simple solution to this. I walked over and grabbed my crutches and placed them under each arm and awkwardly walked out of my room and made my way to the library so I could find Aoi knowing her she would be studying her medical lessons so she doesn't fall behind her class due to caring for me.

I entered the quiet room of the library through two double steel doors and shut them behind me as quietly as I could. Walking past the reception desk I entered the study area, which was surrounded by towering bookshelves on all sides and at the end of the study area there was a stairway that leads to the second floor that was also filled with shelves of tomes. The tables were unsurprisingly made out of marble that had small candle holsters for some late night studying. I spotted Aoi at the third table and made my way over to her. Once there I slid onto the bench and placed my crutches at the end of it. Aoi didn't even look up from her book.

"Aoi let me see your notes from class," I asked. She pushed the notebook towards me without a word her eyes still fixed on the page she was reading. I tore out a blank page from the back and found today's lesson which she conveniently marked with the date.

"Cell makeup, huh?" I whispered to myself. I skimmed over the lesson to discover it was about how Iwagakure's shinobi cell was built and what it was comprised of. I began to copy Aoi's notes which were easy thanks to her near perfect handwriting. Iwa's cells from what I could make out is maximized for complete combat output. To put it in simple terms each cell is meant to be self-sustaining for both offensive and defensive purposes. There are five specific jobs in a cell: a scout, two combat specialist or infantrymen, an engineer and a medic. I'm sure the medic was a lesson learned from the last war that they took from Konoha.

The scout's main role was just that scouting ahead of the cell and locating the enemy. Their secondary role was trap placement/ ambush set up and battlefield analysis/ information gathering. This was good for the cell but bad for the scout, one the scout is completely isolated from the cell which meant that their survival rate was extremely low. If a scout were to encounter the enemy by stumbling upon them his/her life would be forfeit. Then there is the danger of traps and ambushes all of which the scout would be completely on their own to fight until the cell arrived. Two should the scout be killed and the rest of the cell survive the now four-man cell is in a bad spot because it just lost its eyes and ears. I'm sure there are plans in place in case this happens but plan B is never as strong as plan A unless you are trying to prevent a pregnancy. This tells me that the scout has to be a smart fighter and have excellent battlefield awareness and are able to handle themselves in fights where they are outnumbered.

The infantrymen were just for fighting… that's it. They are strictly fighters that are supposed to overwhelm the enemy or force them to retreat. They react off the scout and their information that they give them through signals and markers. They are also the line of defense for the medic to ensure the medic doesn't have to join the fight and can focus on healing hurt allies. There wasn't anything wrong with this line of logic hell I would have come up with the same thing if given the chance.

The engineer was exactly what his name suggested they engineered the battlefield. Their job was to alter the earth to give the cell a tactical advantage over the enemy, they are masters of earth release. They work in conjunction with the scout and the infantrymen by helping the scout place traps and ambushes and fight alongside the infantrymen. They are the jack of all trades in the cell and have to be able to do three jobs at once if need be. This again was good it balanced the cell out to have someone basically able to replace any job that happens to be injured or killed.

Finally the medic, this job was self-explanatory. Their job was to heal, period should they have to fight they could but it meant that the key members of the cell have already been killed and it's down to them and another person. At that point, death is guaranteed. There was also a basic formation drawn as well called the '2-3 formation'. The scout had an infantryman with him to assist in trap setting and as a backup, the engineer, medic, and the last infantryman stayed back behind them at least 250 m or more depending on terrain and visibility.

This got my tactical gears turning, the formation wasn't a bad idea but depending on the mission I would rather have the engineer be with the scout. If both of these roles were together it would maximize the scout's survivability as well as give the engineer more information on flanks and choke points for potential ambush sites. Plus should a hasty ambush have to be set-up you already have the two people needed to do so which would reduce time on target and setup time as well. Now, of course, there is risk involved in this if both the scout and engineer gets taken out the cell will then be completely exposed to the enemy with only one specialty job remaining being the medic. I'm sure the infantrymen are capable of doing both the scouting and engineering but they are not specifically trained for it and won't do the job to the caliber of those who are. Soldiers are always asked to stand in for someone who gets killed on the battlefield but they can never be a true replacement for someone who was an expert at their role in the formation.

"Hey, Aoi," She hummed a response. "Do we pick what roles we will be after graduation?" I asked.

"No," she said still reading her book. "A lot of times it's based off how you do on the written test at the end of phase one,"

"When is the test?"

She was quiet for a moment.

"I think in 3 or 4 months from now? I'll have to check again. Typically your clan becomes scouts at least that's what the majority of the Tsu clan are,"

Huh, so each clan may have specific roles they train for to supplement the shinobi forces. It may not be like Konoha's set-up but it's similar. Which in retrospect is a great idea if each clan specializes in a particular role in the cell then you can consistently put young blood into the force and have them be fully capable day one shinobi out of the academy which is what I'm assuming is the point. Iwagakure doesn't seem like the kind of village to nurture young shinobi.

I continued to copy Aoi's notes to completion before sliding the notebook back to her.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver," I said.

"Don't mention it, kinda my job,"

I picked up my crutches and began to make my way through the large shelf of tomes. The sheer number of books was staggering, libraries always put me in a state of awe. All of the knowledge from past generations compiled into one space my curiosity was starting to get the better of me. I was never one to read for pleasure but when it came to learning that was another subject. I read to learn, whether it was to gain new insights on subjects I've covered or to brush up on old skills and tactics that was it. If I learned something new it was like Christmas for me. There was nothing you couldn't learn from a book in my opinion why wait for experience to teach you something when a book could do it without the collateral damage. Hence was one of the reasons why I loved books.

There were topics on almost anything a young shinobi would want to learn about but that was about it, what I mean is everything was about war. No basic mathematics unless it was covering trajectory of kunai or shrunken which sounded ridiculous to me. Nothing on agriculture, sciences, music, nothing just how to kill more effectively. Sure this was a shinobi Academy and maybe I was being unfair but to completely void other subjects from potential soldiers was in my mind setting us up for failure.

The best soldiers learn from all subjects reason being was you never knew what in the world you were going to run into fighting an army. Each village was different in culture, science, the arts etc. To handicap your own people like this was criminal, if you've never experienced or studied a threat then you'd be in real trouble if you crossed that threat… or dead either one. Oh well, nothing I can do about this now just stow it in my head for later.

I continued to scan the spines of books and began to pick out a few for later research and better understanding. A basic on chakra manipulation, one on elements, a logbook on the other village's military capabilities and compiled tactics, and finally an in-depth overview of genjutsu. The show didn't do a very good job of explaining genjutsu, sure it affects the victim's senses but how exactly is it cast are there things the user is limited to? Can a genjutsu be freely changed in terms of how the victims are affected? So many questions, hopefully, enough answers to go around. I'm sure there wouldn't be enough but hey, let's keep a positive attitude here.

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I woke up still in the library, I could feel the drool on my forearm that I was using for a pillow. I sat up and blinked a few times trying to get my eyes to adjust to the lack of light in the room. Looking down the fruits of my studying sat scattered around, multiple books left open to what looked like random pages. Papers with my handwriting lay scattered as well.

How long was I out for?

I began to gather my books and papers to return to my dorm but I ran into an issue. How in the world was I going to use my crutches to get back? I technically haven't been cleared by the head nurse to stop using them but I could walk without them. I just didn't want to get seen and raise suspicions on how I healed faster than I was supposed to. Looking out of the giant windows in the library it looked like it was early morning around 3 or 4 am.

I'll have to take the risk if I want to continue my studying. I finished gathering my work and snagged my crutches up as I began to walk out. I had my senses on high alert as I walked through the corridors of the academy, trying to pick up anyone before they could sense I was here. As I passed by the sparring gym I pick up on someone's chakra the door was ajar as well.

Who was up at this hour training? I decided to poke my head in just out of curiosity. I got my head through and saw Aoi practicing a taijutsu style we haven't been taught in class. Her movements weren't clumsy like someone who was just learning the style, no she was fluid, confident in each move. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she flowed seamlessly into the next kata. She was fierce with her attacks which is nothing like how she was in class.

Aoi just who are you? I wondered in my head. Was she the quiet, kind, and clumsy girl that she showed everyone during the day or was she this person before me; a confident, passionate warrior sharpening her skills for battle? I pulled my head back through the door jam and continued to walk back to my room. People are so secretive in this world.

A week later I was in the nurse's office for my final check-up. I was laying on my back as the head nurse ran a diagnostic jutsu over my legs. Aoi was in the room also just watching without much interest in her eyes.

"Well, it seems you've healed up nicely," she said stopping the jutsu.

"So am I clear to go 100%?" I asked.

"I'd say take it slow, your legs might not be able to handle that kind of workload, listen to your body and don't overdo it,"

Yes. Little did she know I was planning on going all out with my training. I didn't have time to "listen to my body" my body will do what the hell I tell it to. Playing catch up wasn't my style I liked to be ahead of the curve, It took me a week of late night studying to learn and memorize everything I've been taught in class these last six months plus the extra curriculum on genjutsu and other topics. I was currently working on my chakra control using drills I found in the books I was reading.

The academy had no idea what was about to hit them. I've recovered and now everyone would catch hell from this point forward. Especially the clan heirs I hadn't forgotten what they did.

"Well am I free to go?" I asked. The nurse nodded and I hopped off the bed and made my way out of the room with Aoi close behind. "So, I assume you go back to your normal schedule?"

"Yeah, it's been hard keeping up with medical class but I had to deal with it," she responded. We both stopped at a fork in the hallway her on the left myself on the right. "Well, I'll be seeing you Yuudai,"

"Wait," I said. She stopped but she didn't turn to look at me. "Uh, if it's cool with you I'd like for us to remain, friends,"

She didn't say anything.

"Hello? Earth to Aoi,"

"Friends, huh?" she said softly. Her head snapped up and her eyes met mines. "Yuudai, I want you to listen to me. Do not confuse my actions over the last few months as friendship, I was doing what was asked of me and that was to nurse you back to health. I've done that so we have nothing further tying us together. I cannot afford to be distracted by things like friends,"

"What do you mean distracted?!" I flared. "I wouldn't do that to you,"

"Let me ask you something Yuudai," she looked behind her and the pictures of the people who won the 'best of class' award hung there. "How do you think these people here got here?"

"They were the best in their class obviously," I answered.

"That's a given but do you know how they earned that title?

"No, I don't,"

She sighed.

"You really came to the academy without a clue huh? Fine, I'll tell you at the end of every class's time here there is a tournament held. The top 20 students fight it out starting with number 20 vs number 19 and whoever wins advances. At the end of it, all the last one standing is crowned best in class,"

"I get it you want to be best in class but I don't see how us being friends-"

"Let me finish," Aoi said cutting me off. "The person who wins also gets one wish that will be granted by the Tsuchikage and the four major clans, nothing is off the table except becoming the kage, a commoner could become part of the ruling class, jail sentences pardoned no matter the crime and so on,"

I definitely didn't know this I thought it was just a stupid title.

"So you have something you want to wish for?"

"That's right, and I can't let anyone get in my way, now that you are healed you've become a competitor for the same thing I want. That's why we can't be friends, don't take it personally Yuudai. I like you as a person you're a bit weird but not a bad person, but right now I need to focus,"

My heart felt heavy like lead, it was like asking a girl out for prom and getting shot down in front of the whole school. I understood really I did but at the same time I didn't want to, Aoi was the closest thing to a friend I had right now. All the other kids didn't bother with me, none of them even tried to approach me and talk. No, I was just branded a weirdo because I showed a slightly higher intellect for my age. I was going to be all alone I knew that and so did Aoi but it seemed like she didn't care that wish was WAY more important to her right now.

"...fine do what you want, Aoi," I said and walked off. Fuck it, game on now I needed to get in the top 20 so I can participate in this tournament. I was never a friendly person, to begin with, but this was a new life and I thought that maybe I could try to be a bit different and come out of my shell, guess it just wasn't in the cards for me like always. Nothing is ever in the cards for me, friendship, marriage, a safe job nothing. All I get is loneliness and danger. Fine let it be that way I tried and of course, it didn't work any point in sulking over it.

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That night I tortured myself physically in the academy's outdoor training yard. The cold air was almost unbearable in the beginning cutting through my clothes like a knife. None of that mattered to me however as I began the gruelling process of training my body physically without using chakra to buff my endurance. I began with push-ups, doing as many as I could in one minute to find my body muscle failure point and then from there did 50% of the repetitions for one minute with thirty seconds of rest between each set.

"10...11...12...13…...14…...ahhhhhh…...15" I counted and then collapsed face first in the dirt. I turned my head sideways so I could breathe. My arms felt like noodles after the 7th set and I still had three more sets to go, I groaned at the thought but I wasn't going to give up because it hurt a little bit. Once I finished my push-ups I went into cardio endurance and agility workouts. First up was 10 laps around the yard as fast as I could. The yard was about the size of a small indoor track which didn't seem big until I began running. Halfway through I felt sick but I kept pushing myself I knew I still had something left in the tank. The cold air wasn't helping my cause however by burning my lungs every time I took in a breath. On the last lap, I gave it everything I had left, my legs felt heavy and hard to move, my lungs were on fire, but despite all of that I still gave it everything. Once I finished the lap I fell to my knees and puked my guts up.

I was tasting my dinner and lunch all over again mixed in with the stomach acid didn't make it as appetizing as the first time I had eaten it. God this sucked, I'd forgotten how much getting in shape sucked it had been so long since I actually worked out like this. It felt good though even if I just finished I felt alive more than I've ever felt since being born here. The best part about was the fact that the night was still young. I got back up to my feet and looked at the bright full moon that hung amongst the twinkling stars.

"Let's go Yuudai, we still have work to do," I said to myself.

I committed fully to the pain I was going to inflict on my own body until I was as strong, as fast, as athletic as this body would allow me to be in its current state. I was younger and smaller than other kids in my class but that wouldn't be forever, I would grow in my time here. All I could do now is push myself to my absolute limits and then surpass them. I didn't want to just be another shinobi of Iwagakure, I wanted to be one the best. I wanted my name to be spoken in the same breath as the legends of this world. Looking back, I died as a nobody soldier in my last life, burned alive after a tank round hit my truck I would not suffer the same fate here. Survival was what I prioritized the most right now, and in order to survive, I needed to be strong. It all starts here in this yard. Sure there are people out there who would be more talented than me as a shinobi that's life and I can't control that but I can control how hard I work at my skills, I can control my desire for greatness, I can control my hunger for excellence. I began my next workout repeating the same words in my head.

'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard,'

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A/N: I really apologize for the wait on this chapter I swear my job took over my life the last three weeks I'm going to try and be a bit more consistent with my updates from now on barring a major case of writer's block.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

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A year came and went faster than I expected, our curriculum had shifted from classroom to practical exercises and scenarios. On top of the consistent field, training was our role training we had been slated for after our final academic test covering everything we had learned up to that point. God was that test difficult, they really tried to weed out any slackers from getting put into the specialty roles which in actuality I don't blame them for you wouldn't want a dumbass scouting or being a medic, that's how you get people killed. The hours we were in class for also changed as in there were no set hours. For example, the infantry class would spend all day and part of the night sparring or running or practice throwing, or like my scout class would spend days in the training grounds hiding from each other and the instructors and if you got caught no food for you that day. Even the other classes had it just as hard sleep was a luxury, food was a commodity, and free time was almost non-existent if we did get free time you had to pick between eating, sleeping, or training on your own. Most of the kids would pick sleep just so they could remain somewhat mentally all the way there. I would train but I have to fight off the sleepiness and the hunger which took a lot of willpower on my part, but I knew I'd would thank myself for it later.

I mean based on the progression I was achieving since I recovered from my injuries I was surpassing the majority of my classmates simply based on the fact that I was out working them on my own. I had a really good grasp on chakra control and my sensory skills were above and beyond my supposed skill level, I wasn't the fastest but not many could outpace me. When it came to fighting I was one of the best in the scouting class and the craftiest. I still had a long way to go when it came to genjutsu but I wasn't struggling with it however with ninjutsu I was still lacking, my progress with genjutsu was far beyond that of ninjutsu it was like I was a natural at it which only made me focus on ninjutsu more. See we were taught once and then it was on us from there no help, the instructors cut us no slack hell we started out with seventy-five us in the scouting class we were down to forty-eight right now. The scenarios were a pass or fail thing and if you failed you got dropped from the class and sent to be an infantryman. Which didn't seem bad until you see the infantry class beating each other to a bloody pulp day-in and day-out. Most kids couldn't do it and got dropped from the academy al together. The ones who were left in the class were hanging on by a thread, living on that razor's edge between passing and failing I wasn't exempt from this reality either.

Scenario tests were designed to simulate real-life missions and war situations as close as possible. We were never told when one would take place, we would just be given a random time to meet with all our mission gear, maps, and compass. The scenarios were also very random, escort a VIP, site security, force on force, espionage, infiltration, and decoy just to name a few. Trust me when I say these tests were grueling, making good hard combat decisions were difficult because the book answer wasn't the answer in these test. Plus the instructors threw curveballs as often as possible to confuse and frustrate us if that wasn't bad enough try dealing with all that chaos while sleep deprived and hungry. You become forgetful, sluggish, and worst of all oblivious to your surroundings all of which were killers to scouts. I really don't think other roles training was as hard as ours was, I mean every one of our instructors was veterans of the last war on top of that between all of them there were about five decades of shinobi experience.

Today was another scenario test and I was sure it would test our resolve, we had a total of ten hours of sleep in the last three days and we hadn't eaten in last twenty-four hours. The class assembled in the courtyard in front of the school. It was 2 in the morning after about 3 hours of sleep and it the air was frigid, you could hear the chattering of teeth and clicking of knees hitting each other, even with winter clothes on. We had our full mission packs on our backs which was about 20 pounds of extra weight, plus maps and compasses in our pockets. I let out a yawn and tried to stretch the rest of the sleep out of my body. I knew this was going to be a long day...and a stressful one seeing that this is another go/no-go test, failure wasn't an option.

Our instructors appeared before us in a blur of body flickers.

"Morning, scouts hope you all got some good sleep in," one instructor said with a smile. He knew damn well we didn't. "As you know today is another scenario based test to see who is keeping up with the material we are teaching and who is not, so today you all will be put on a SAR mission,"

SAR was short for search and retrieval. Really any shinobi regardless of role could do this but what we were being tested on was the search aspect.

"So, prepare to copy your grid." he paused as we pulled out or maps. "JK1089,"

What?! Only four digits?! That will only bring us within 1 kilometer. We'd have to search an entire grid square that's 247 acres! There's no way we could search that much land alone. It wasn't just me that was upset I could hear the grumbling from other kids as well.

This was going cull a lot more of us.

"You will have until the sun goes down tonight, to return with the scrolls that were left at you allies last known location, good luck,"

With that, the instructors disappeared from sight. It was on us now.

I found my grid on my map and plotted an 8-digit grid within the square. From there I planned my main route of travel, three alternate routes, and my emergency route. Finally, I shot my azimuth with my compass and I took off with the other kids not too far behind me. No wonder they gave us to sundown tonight and woke us up at 2 am this trip was a half day there and back. Which meant we didn't have too much time to search. We needed to be quick but leave no stone unturned for this information. It was drilled into us the first week of class.

'Information rules the battlefield'

For Iwagakure scouting missions were no fail missions, you either got the intel, passed it off before dying, or died trying to do the first two. I began to slow my pace just a bit to conserve my chakra and stamina, it would do me no good to be exhausted as soon as I made it to my destination on top of the fact I had no idea what kind of situation I was heading into. With our instructors you had to remain vigilant there was no telling what could be waiting for you when you reach the objective sight.

Plus trying to run full speed in the land of earth was suicide, the deep caverns that lie underneath the mountainous surface were always causing hidden pitfalls. Not to mention the vast abysses between two split stone faces, fissures, earthquakes, the list of dangers are endless. You needed all your wits about you just to navigate here. I wasn't in too much of a hurry to die again so I was going to take this one slow.

Once the sun came up I could see my destination on the horizon, a huge cave mouth sat at the base of a large mountain range that spanned for miles. I needed to get inside and begin my planning for finding this intel. Once inside I dropped my pack, and pulled my map and compass out and began the tedious process of mapping my routes to cover this entire piece of land. I decided the box method would be best over the clover or spiral method. I began plotting my points in a box and then into a smaller box until the whole grid square was covered.

"That should do it," I said. I reached into my pack and grab my towel and began wiping the sweat off my body, didn't want my sweat to freeze on me and be in real trouble then. I already had the flu earlier in the year during a scenario and I'd much rather not have to suffer like that again. I pulled out my canteen and took a swig. Once my thirst was quenched I packed up and removed any trace of my being there and took off for my first point. I began to suppress my chakra so to not draw any attention from the instructors who I knew were out there somewhere, and I didn't want to run into any of them because if they caught you during a scenario it was game over unless you could beat them in combat or somehow get away once they spotted you. By get away I mean completely off your trail which with the limited skill sets we had that was damn near impossible.

I could faintly feel the chakra for other kids racing around the area trying to find this hidden location. I decided to keep track of them mentally because it would save me time from looking in spots that have already been thoroughly searched. I reached my first point and there was a canyon with a huge river raging at the bottom but there was a bank next to it with a cave, as much as I didn't want to travel all the way down there I didn't have a choice. I began my descent hopping from one canyon wall to the other until I reached the bank the raging river was crashing against the bank violently and I quickly moved away from the freezing water towards the cave. I dropped my pack and pulled out a flashlight and shined it into the cave. It was a shallow cave so I could see all the way into it and didn't see anything. I made a half seal.

"Kai," I said. The inside of the cave warped back to being part of the cliffside. "Damn,"

I quickly grabbed my pack and proceeded to jump up the cliffside. Immediately I felt chakra signatures closing in on my position. I paused and stuck myself the cliff and began making hand signs.

"Earth release: hiding in the rock technique,"

My body began to blend in the cliff face, I sat motionless as the signatures closed in and reached the top of the cliff I was hanging from. Five shadows flew past me to the bank to check on their trap that I tripped. I began to skip breathing to control my heart rate and focused on keeping the jutsu active, I would be screwed if they found me because that was five of our instructors down there playing the enemy. I began to slowly climb the cliff testing each step to make sure no rocks would slip from under me alerting them to my position. I reached the top and took off in the direction they came from, off in the distance I saw a group of kids heading in my direction. If they continued they would run right into the instructors.

"Five enemies to my six," I said as I passed them. They immediately changed course and I kept my current course on to my next point.

My next point was an old abandoned village, buried into the mountain range that crossed through the grid. Surprisingly it was still marked on the map as an inhabited village and that could be a place where the objective could be hidden, it was a hunch and wasn't too out of the realm of reason. I was only having these thoughts because a four-digit grid was way too massive for us to effectively search in approximately twelve hours, sure if we could work together... which we could but only subtlety like with markers or hand signals, we needed comms like radios so we can stay on top of what has been searched, where the enemy is, and where each other are so we can know for sure how much land has been covered. Oh well, no point in crying about it now just have to continue the mission.

I reached the old village and took cover in one of the first two story building I could find. Once inside I noticed I was inside a hospital, old rusty tools lay scattered, the beds were dirty and looked like they were rotting from the inside out. It was dusty and from what I could see some of the floors and walls were beginning to give way with the number of cracks and missing portionsmissing. I moved away from the window I came in from and found a dark corner in the adjacent room. I made some hand seals.

"Genjutsu arts: false room,"

I cast a genjutsu on the entire room and hid it from normal sight, only a wall would be seen on the other side. I pulled my map out and began marking the areas I've covered up to this point, then I marked the areas the other kids have covered. I began to see a pattern some of the kids were using different methods but still, it wasn't chaotic but it looked planned. So everyone was working together, huh? Figures there was too much land to cover this time to fly solo, more than likely they got into teams of four and used a cloverleaf pattern to cover ground as quickly as possible. There were three methods we were taught to search a large area for a small target first was the box method which is the one I use, its great for a solo search because you only have to mark four points and from there condense it down as you search. The second was the cloverleaf method, this was the ideal way to search large areas because it required more people for one but also it covered ground five times faster than the box. A skilled group of scout could have this entire grid completely searched within two hours max. Finally, there was the star method. Best way to describe how this one worked was like drawing the star of David. Each scout would make a triangle and that would be his area of responsibility, however, this method was the most dangerous to employ, the reason being that you could be miles away from your squad while doing this pattern. Get caught or into a fight and there was a slim chance anyone would make it in time to help you. Now the one thing the instructors left out was that if you were smart and was good a sensing you could pass every single SAR scenario and not team up with anyone, all you had to do was keep track of the others on the map which would save you time and energy from searching the old fashioned way like they were doing.

I felt this pang of jealousy, however, hit my heart but I quickly crushed the feeling and tried to remove it from the roots. Fuck em' I don't need their help, the weak and stupid need to work together otherwise they will fail. Besides they are doing all the hard work for me, I continued marking my map and then the only spaces that were left untouched was my location and a 500-meter radius around it. So my hunch was correct, the objective was somewhere in this village. The village was too big for me to search alone plus there was no telling if the instructors had set up any traps or worse were laying in wait for the first group to come try and seize the target. It was not a risk I was willing to take so I sat down and pulled out a scroll, might as well do some studying while I wait for my bait to trigger the trap.

I wasn't keeping track of time before I heard an explosion that shook the building I was in. I rolled my scroll back up and placed it in my bag along with my map. I cracked my neck, and then my back then did a few stretches to loosen up my body after being stationary.

"Alright, time to put in some work," I said before dropping my genjutsu and heading for the explosion site. I used the same window I came in from to make my way to the roof so I could get a better line of sight, once on top I could see the smoke from the explosion to my east, I made note that the wind was blowing from north to south thanks to the movement of the smoke cloud. I began to scan for chakra signatures to determine how many hostiles I was dealing with and how many friendlies were in the area.

1...4….6 enemies. 1...2...4...5 allies. There was something strange one signature was sitting in a single spot not moving despite all the chaos around them. That may be the objective they're protecting, and if so then that's my target. I pushed chakra into my legs and pushed off the ledge like a rocket, zipping through the air to close the distance quickly. My vision blurred due to how fast my body was moving I had tunnel vision and as I approached my target I saw a familiar figure…shit. I torqued my body and dodged his punch mid-air and an explosion went off right behind me throwing me further, I slid on my feet and stopped myself. So they brought some kids from the engineer class to play the enemy as well?

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Keita said with a smile. I looked past him and I saw my objective there were scrolls stacked on top of each other. Ugh, why was this idiot in my way?!

"I wanted to wait for Jin, but you'll be a good warm-up,"

Oh, he still thinks I'm just a warm-up? My ego was beginning to override my logic, I hadn't forgotten what he did to me I wanted to show him who was truly superior but this place wasn't good enough I want it to be in front of everyone I wanted to humiliate him. I calmed my emotions this wasn't the place for them, I knew that.

"Heh, well you not top on my priority list either Keita-sama, so I must apologize but I need you to move so I can pass my test," I said.

"Hahaha, like I care what you want, come on I haven't fought in while and I feel like I'm getting rusty,"

I took a deep breath, I was going up against the explosion Kekkei Genkai and I didn't have a solid counter to him, yet. Keita was a formidable opponent only a prodigy could have the capabilities of using a Kekkei Genkai this early in life, I couldn't be careless however I could be a bit reckless if the situation called for it. I looked around at my surroundings to try and get a feel for the area, but then he was on top of me in a flash. I jumped back to avoid his first attack only to have shuriken thrown at me which I deflected with ease with my kunai. He closed the distance again this time going for a leg sweep that I jumped over landing behind him with my back to the objective. He followed up with a flurry of punches which I parried or evaded with ease. I continued my retreat towards the objective while keeping my full focus on Keita and his body language to help me predict his next attack. I felt a slight spike in his chakra and I prepared my counter. He closed the distance with a body flicker and appeared with his punch already cocked and his plant foot loaded back. I quickly flew through my seals.

"Too slow," Keita said from behind me. When did he create a clone?! I had no time to react to his attack. "Explosion Release: Explosive Crush"

Both Keita's smashed their fist into my body and exploding on contact. The shockwave ripped through the air throwing dust and debris everywhere, even the earth shivered a bit due to the force of the blast. Keita stood looking at the smoldering pile in front of him a huge smile on his face.

"Oops, looks like I put a little too much force behind that one, oh well not that it matters he was a branch member anyways he won't be missed too bad,"

"Heh, yeah if only I was dead Keita-sama then that would be the case," I said. Keita whirled around trying to locate where my voice had come from. I reached out through the earth and grabbed hold of his ankles with a death grip. "Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique,"

I pulled Keita downwards and pushed myself through the same hole, as I exited I closed the hole to encase his body from the neck down. I looked at Keita just his head was above ground, which gave me some time to run over to the objective and grab a scroll. I was relieved a bit that I passed another scenario. Then Keita began to laugh, a hysterical one at that.

"What's, so funny?" I asked. Genuinely confused, I beat him I had what I came here for, so what did he find so damn funny?!

"Well for the fact that you are as stupid as you look, and well…"

The Keita in the hole disappeared in a puff of smoke. I narrowly dodged his counter-attack from behind. I began to look for an escape route I had what I came for, I slipped another jab then a hook, then why was he- Keita's knee drove right into my chest causing me to lose my breath and shot me into a wall. The wall crumbled around me immediately after I hit it, I was going to feel that in the morning.

"Don't tell me you're done already, I'm just getting warmed up," Keita taunted. I really needed to end this, I'm sick of him and his damn mouth. I opened my senses to check for any signatures around me, I noticed most of the chakra was to the southwest meaning… this was a decoy… goddamnit. I pulled myself out of the rubble, I was going to end this quickly he has wasted enough of my time.

"Keita-sama I must apologize, I have been pulling my punches in this fight," I began to allow my muscles to receive chakra to amplify my physical performance. "Allow me to show you… just how scary of an opponent I can be,"

I instantly appeared inside his guard and slammed my fist right into his chest drawing a choke from his lips, I quickly followed with a hook then and uppercut causing his teeth to clack together before kicking him away from me. He slammed into the adjacent wall from me, I was in front of him before he could recover and punched him through the wall. I backed up to give him room to lunge at me which I anticipated slipping his jab I slammed my knee into his gut and gave him a guillotine chop to the back of the neck. I went to stomp him further into the ground but he quickly escaped, however, I gave him no reprieve as I got right back into his airspace hitting him with a flurry of punches and kicks. He tried to trade blows with me but he was to overwhelmed by my onslaught he couldn't coordinate a proper counterattack.

Let's finish this. Before I run out of stamina.

I pushed chakra into my fist and came straight at Keita.

"That won't work on me forever!" he yelled. He held his hand in my direction. "Explosion release: Air bomb,"

I timed his jutsu, I waited until the last possible second and once I saw the air begin to ignite I quickly moved to his flank. He had no chance to react.

I socked Keita dead in the jaw and released the chakra which didn't do what I wanted but I still sent him flying. He hit a building and created a body size crater in it. I fell to a knee, my vision began to double and blur. It wasn't the fight that had me fatigued it was the lack of food and sleep, my body was trying to shut down forcibly.

No, no, no, come on Yuudai get it together. This isn't your limit, dammit. I got back on my two feet still unsteady and began my retreat. I headed for the location I last sensed out to be the true objective. I would pass If I could make it back without passing out that is.

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I returned to the academy with a few hours to spare and turned in my scroll to the instructors.

"Good work," a tall burly instructor said. "I'm surprised given how you operate we thought you would be one of the last ones to make it,"

It was no secret in the academy how terrible I was at teamwork. I was one of the worst in that area mainly because everyone labeled me an outcast, so in response, I treated them with just as much disdain no one ever tried to understand me as a person they just made assumptions of my character. Which is fine I allow people to think what they want you can't change it easily so why bother, it's a waste of time and energy.

"I just have my ways of using people to my advantage," I said dismissively. "Maybe if half the class wasn't a bunch of fools then I wouldn't have to do things on my own,"

The instructor just chuckled.

"You won't live very long with that attitude,"

Tch, please spare me the lecture I was going to live no survive no matter what. All I needed was the power to do so, in this world that was all that mattered who had more power.

"I'm sure you are right sensei, but that would only apply to me if I was an average student, which I'm not you have seen this first hand the only one that outdoes me is Jin in our class, and even he teams up with people from time to time, I have done this with my own hands and wit," The instructor had a frustrated look on his face because he knew I was right. I was the hardest worker in the class hands down. I even had the smarts to completely out wit my opponents and avoid unnecessary fighting. "I will prove just how superior I am when the best of class tournament takes place, if you will excuse me I have training to do,"

"Be in class at 4 in the morning," I heard from behind me.

"Yes, sensei," I replied with a slight bow and made my way to the training courtyard. I had begun learning how to wield a sword, and I really wanted to add that kind of skill set to my fighting style. The academy had gone over various weapons and how to properly weld them but to actually teach us a sword style that we could use as a base wasn't seen as important. As long as we could use the weapon and have a general understanding of its functions on the battlefield that was enough, we were being massed produced which is what happens when a nation is preparing for war these were just the early indications. We were set to graduate in four years originally, that was quickly cut down to two we would graduate in a few months, on top of that there were only two classes that would go through training at a time now it was four. The enrollment age was dropped to four, all red flags that point to the fact that war was not far off. Majority of these kids would just be fodder, bodies to throw at the enemy to slow them down.

It is quite sickening what they are doing to us. Preparing us to lay down our lives at the drop of a hat, indoctrinating us to follow the orders of the Tsuchikage no matter what may happen. I could never agree with this level of child abuse but this was a different world with different laws and values, it was at moments like these that I would be reminded of that fact.

I made my way into my room and dropped my pack next to the door walking with purpose to my desk I grabbed a kenjutsu scroll I was using as the base of my style. The bokken that I received from my parents for my fifth birthday sat quietly in the corner, I reached over and grabbed the smooth as silk wooden sword. I was in and out in a flash and on my way to the training courtyard to begin what I hoped to be a fruitful five hours of kenjutsu/ninjutsu training. There was much for me to accomplish I needed to finish building my foundation for kenjutsu so I could be effective with it in combat. A sword added attacking range something that I needed because I was still the youngest student in my class and everyone was just a bit bigger and longer than I was. So getting a weapon in my hands to assist with my style of fighting was to me a no-brainer, I would have to create my own special techniques but that was down the road.

The courtyard was completely empty this time of year and rightfully so due to the bitter cold even in the daytime it never got above thirty degrees. This was where I felt the most comfortable when I was alone striving to be better than I was yesterday. There was a kind of peace that you don't really experience when you are near others, it's like your mind sharpens and your body is fully committed to action. Your thoughts are clearer and you are at ease with your own existence. These were the parts of my days that I thoroughly enjoyed. I still was feeling the effects of pushing myself to my max against Keita but I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself.

My old platoon had a saying we lived by: 'Take a knee, drink some concrete and harden the fuck up'

"Alright, let's begin with 1,000 swings and 2,000 pivots"

"Oh, so this is where you've been hiding out after class?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Jin standing there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. His mere presence irritated me to my core, but I controlled my body language as to not reveal it. I turned to face him completely and bowed slightly.

"Good evening Jin-sama," I said respectfully.

"Relax, I was just coming to see what you've been up to recently I mean you've really turned it around since you recovered from our first fight. I knew you would be good but never this good,"

"I have no idea what you mean, Jin-sama," I said. "I am simply trying to do my best,"

He chuckled at that statement.

"Your best huh? Well, I see that only someone as crazy as you would be out here in this cold training, why are you trying so hard?"

He's after something, I could feel it Jin wasn't one to approach anyone without reason. I couldn't put my finger on it but I knew he was after something. We hadn't really spoken to each other since that day in the hallway, other than the occasional greeting. I don't think he was aware of my suspicion so I'll play along with him.

"I just don't want to bring disgrace to my family is all,"

"Really I mean that is a valid reason, but I've been watching you this entire year and how you've been training. Even going as far as skipping meals and losing out on sleep, no one else is pushing themselves THAT hard, so I just find it odd." Jin began to approach me slowly. As if he was a lion stalking its prey but I didn't waver even a bit. My face was blank and unemotional, my body remained loose and relaxed. I would not fall for his tricks this time. "Are you upset about something? Or do you have someone you want to defeat?"

Ahhh, so that's what you want. You want to see if I've put you in my crosshairs. If I had the mentality of a five-year-old you may have been able to get it out of me, but alas you have no idea who you are dealing with.

"I just want to win the best of class tournament, and I need to place in the top twenty in the class to do so, my mother and my aunt both won so I want to continue that tradition," I said.

"So you isolate yourself? Don't you think that is counter-productive after all we all have to work with each other once we graduate," Jin was now a foot away from me both of us had locked eyes on the others searching for just that slight falter in intensity. "Really the only person I've ever seen you interact with is Aoi, but I guess that didn't last long either huh? She must have gotten tired of your mightier than thou attitude,"

"Oh? is my attitude not without merit? I have single-handed passed all my scenarios, unlike you, I don't like lying to people about my intentions behind my kindness. Jin-sama you are worse than me you befriend people first before making them your pawns. Isn't that what you tried to do to me in the hallway?" Jin's eye twitched in irritation and his mouth twisted into a frown. He thrust his hand for my throat but I quickly parried smacking his hand with my bokken. "I see, it's fine if you tell the truth about others, but you don't like the truth being told about you. Well, I shouldn't be surprised," I said with mirth in my voice.

"Please, you talk as if you know me Yuudai. We barely speak to each other," he said taking a step back to avoid another slap from my sword.

"You'd be surprised what people talk about around you when they don't think you are listening, I don't need to talk to you to find out about you, after all, I am a shinobi in training" Jin's confidence began to fade a bit, his body began taking a defensive posture. I'm sure he was trying to figure out how much I knew and to the extent not that I'd ever tell him or anyone else for that matter. "Jin-sama, It would be wise if you started to prepare for the life you will enter when you graduate of this place while you still have time you may end up regretting it later," I said.

"Tch, what do you know? I'm already top of the class I have nothing to prove to you, or have you forgotten the beating I gave you during your entrance exam?"

"If you hold that as a victory then I know that you don't have many quality wins when it comes to combat. I was four with no ability to use my own chakra, I couldn't defend myself properly, I was slow, inconsistent, and scared. I dare you to fight me now, I guarantee the outcome will be a lot different."

Jin squared his body up with mines.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" he asked

"It is, again if I was you Jin-sama I would begin preparing because I'm coming for you. If you doubt my skill is even worthy of your acknowledgment ask Keita-sama where his arrogance got him against me," I said. I raised my bokken and pointed it at Jin. "So, Jin-sama do you accept? You and me, the best of class tournament in front of the whole village, our rematch will take place. How about it?"

Jin let out a chuckle. I guess he found me amusing. He turned away and began walking away.

"Sure I'll accept, if you get to me that is which I don't think will happen,"

"What do you mean by that?" I said.

"You'll find out tomorrow remember? Our final rankings come out in the morning,"

Jin disappeared from my sight. I wonder why he had such confidence that I would have a hard time reaching him in the tournament. It wouldn't have mattered if I was number two or twenty. I was going to beat anyone who stood in my way. The big event was eleven months out, I got into my stance and began my kenjutsu training. In eleven months I needed to be the best shinobi in my class, a tall order no doubt but it was doable. Aoi was maybe the only person I was worried to fight because she trained just as hard as I did. When we do clash no matter who wins it would take the will of gods to keep fighting after that, plus I had no idea how she fought or what she knew in terms of jutsu.

I began to pick up my swing's intensity as well as adding the pivots. I focused on building up the proper muscle memory I had been working on previously. Well, I didn't know how everyone else felt about the tournament but I was excited. There was nothing better than performing at a high level in front of people, it was like a drug for me. I reveled in the feeling oh showing off my talents… and fighting my way to undisputed recognition. I still remember how my aunt called me talentless, Jin making an example of me, Keita looking down on my skills, Ryojin's bullying, and Aoi's rejection.

I began the katas in my kenjutsu scroll in order still trying to keep the same intensity I started with.

Yes, I remember it all and all they have done was turn a small blaze into a forest fire. I will not accept anything less than greatness from myself, because others have expected nothing from me. So doubt me Jin and I will show you why that is a mistake because once we are standing across from each other in that ring I will crush you. I will do everything I can to grind your unearned superiority into dust and crush your pride along with your body.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

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I was called out of class by the headmaster and told to meet her in the arena. I had a guess but time will tell if my hunch is right. I entered the arena room to see I wasn't the only one who was called out of class. There was a group of kids surrounding the headmaster in a horseshoe formation. I walked up the stairs and joined the crowd. Looking around I began to notice the kids that were here, this wasn't a typical assembly.

"Ah, Yuudai-kun you've arrived. Now I can make my announcement. First I'd like to say congratulations to all of you, you've worked hard, kept up with your studies as well as completed your scenarios with top marks. All of you are the future leaders of the village and soon you will be able to put your talents that you've cultivated on full display in one our village's time old tradition: the best of class tournament,"

The atmosphere suddenly shifted it was light at first but then it seemed like I was dropped into a pool on the deep end. Everyone here was gunning to win that tournament for whatever reasons, this is what we have been working towards and that competitive spirit was physically manifesting itself in the air. The headmaster motioned to her left and an instructor began pushing a cart, on it were headbands of the village. He stops the cart inches away from the headmaster and she grabbed one and held it out.

"As of today the twenty of you have earned the right in your instructors eyes, and in mines to receive the title of shinobi and the rank of genin, you are being afforded the privilege of graduating early so you can focus all of your attention on preparing for the tournament which will take place in eleven months, as most of you are aware the Tsuchikage as well as the commanders of each branch, this year, however, the daimyo as also decided to attend,"

It felt like the air was sucked out of the room once that bomb was dropped, the daimyo would be coming to watch us the next generation of his shinobi forces fight it out. I was nervous now, I knew the daimyo was an important figure based off of what I remember from the show, however they were never seen only mentioned. This was our equivalent to a king, how we perform could change our very lives if we catch his eye. There were slight murmurs amongst us until the headmaster cleared her throat.

"Now, I will call you each up by name. The order in which I call you in is the rank that you have received based off your performance in the academy; first up, Jin," No surprise there, Jin was the only person in my scouting class I just couldn't overtake in marks. Everything seemed so natural to him like he was born to be a scout and a shinobi. I, on the other hand, had to put countless hours into my craft. Jin turned and faced us as the headmaster fastened the headband to his head. "Next, Aoi," my eyes nearly bulged out of my head, Aoi?! She was the second best in our class?! How? She had potential sure but for her to be second means my name shouldn't be too far off, hell I might have outdone the other clan heirs too.

"Next,"

Names continued to be called, and the lower the ranks got the angrier I got. The heirs rounded out the top five, but then the top ten came and went without a single mention of me. Soon we were down to the last five. I was at a loss, I had thought that all my hard work would pay off.

"Rank 15: Kenji, rank 16: Mai, rank 17: Michiko," By this point I wasn't even upset anymore, just disappointed. I was disappointed with myself, but also my instructors who placed me this low on the chain. I gave this everything I had so why wasn't I being rewarded for my efforts? What happened to you get out what you put in? Was I really still that weak? Still lacking in ability compared to everyone else?"Rank 18: Noa, rank 19: Ren,"

My confidence was gone, stripped away. It was almost painful, I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Finally rank 20: Yuudai,"

I made my way towards the headmaster and turned to face the group. As the headmaster began to place my headband I looked at all the faces. Jin looked at me with amusement so did the other heirs. Other kids looked at me condescendingly, some with pity. I wasn't dead last in the class but to them, I might as well have been, in their eyes I was the weakest out of all of them. Once my headband was securely fastened to my forehead I made my way through the crowd of kids towards the back.

"Now I sure a lot of you know how the tournament works but for those who don't I'll go over the rules, ranks 20 and 19 will begin the tournament the winner will face rank 18 and so on. There are only two breaks between fights and that is before rank 10's fight and rank 5's fight, other than that it is a straight gauntlet. If you are severely injured in a fight and win you will be asked if you want to withdraw, should you choose to continue to fight you will not be afforded the opportunity again through the rest of your fights, so know your limits, Understood?" she asked.

"Hai, headmaster," everyone responded.

"Good you are dismissed, be sure to clean out the rooms of your personal belongings before leaving the school grounds,"

I tried to leave the room as quickly as possible. I moved with a purpose towards the door, each step quicker than the last. I was just about to grab the door handle before a hand grabbed my shoulder, I froze in mid-action.

"What's the hurry Yuudai?"

I didn't turn around but I knew Keita's voice. I tried to swallow my nervousness and grief at once.

"I have the training to get to, let me go Keita-sama," I said trying to not let my voice crack.

"Ohhh, training huh? What for it's not like your going to win, why bother?" I gritted my teeth in anger. "I mean, after all, you're dead last amongst all of us here. You talked so big too, but now look at you running away like a coward,"

"I'm not running, I was walking fast," I shot back.

"Tch, you getting smart with me?!" he shouted. I flinched at his voice. "Don't you get it, you aren't special your ranking proves it. How much longer will you deny reality?!"

He's right. You aren't special. He has a Kekkei Genkai, you don't. Jin is a genius, you aren't. Aoi has potential, you don't. What was I thinking? Even my own aunt said it " I don't sense anything great about you at all."

Was she right?

"I'm not denying anything, I still believe I'm better than all of you," I snatched my shoulder out of his grip. "The only thing that has changed is that you have to wait longer for me to prove it to you," with that said I opened the door and exited the arena.

I opened my room door and shut it behind me. I removed my headband and threw it against the wall as hard as I could, the sound of metal clambered through the room until it rested on the floor in the corner.

Fuck this. I wished I had stayed dead, I had a new life in a world where the impossible could become possible. Here I was no talent, no special ability, nothing. I was worthless same as in my old life. I wanted to make something of myself this time, but no fate just had to deal me another shitty hand. I walked over to the bed and flopped on top of it, I was done with it all.

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I felt a hand touch my body while still in a dream state. It moved to my shoulder and gently nudged me, something was said but I couldn't make it out. Then the flicks to my cheek began and that began to irritate me. I just wanted to be left the fuck alone, the flicks continued further building up my anger.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" I shouted still half asleep. I soon felt the whole bed begin to move upwards. I fell off it and before I knew it the bed was on top of me.

"The fuck did you say to me brat?!" came a familiar voice. I dragged myself out from under the bed, once free I tuned to lunge at the culprit. My arm was grabbed with haste and I was turned around before I knew it I was picked up and placed into a headlock. The soft body I was pressed against gave me further clues as to who it was, I tilted my head up and was met by the ice-cold eyes of my aunt.

"A-Akako-obasan?" I said in disbelief. "What are-" she constricted the lock causing me to choke on the rest of my words.

"Shut-up, I come here to pick you up for your training and this is how you greet me? You ungrateful punk!" she said as she clamped down on my windpipe even more. I began to fight and struggleand, clawing at her arm that was cutting off my oxygen supply to no avail. I felt the strength begin to leave my body before she released the lock, I collapse to the ground in a coughing fit due to the sudden intake of air to my previously near empty lungs. "I swear, kids these days have absolutely no respect for their elders, get up you big baby and grab your stuff we've wasted enough travel time as it is,"

"What are you talking about obasan? I thought you had better things to do than to train me," I said still gasping for air. "Why the change?"

She let out a breath.

"I see, so you are as stupid as your father when it comes to these things huh?" she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms her eyes stayed closed as if she was thinking about something. "Why would I not train my only nephew and future head of the Akamu family? How would you learn the families techniques that have been passed down for generations?" I looked at her with a lost expression which just seemed to irritate her more. She pushed off the wall and walked past me to the door. "You got five minutes, If I have to come back in here to get you, you'll be leaving with me unconscious,"

After making her threat she left slamming the door behind her. I quickly gathered my things and hurried to find my aunt. I ran through the hallways having memorized the quickest route to the main courtyard. As I began to round a corner another person was doing the same, and I smashed into them. After assessing that I was fine I quickly looked at the person across from me. Aoi sat there giving me a very irritated look.

"My bad," I said as I stood up. I reached my hand out towards her. "You alright?" she looked at my hand and then back to me and began to stand up on her own.

"I'm fine," she said as she dusted herself off. "Seems like your in a hurry,"

"Yeah, kinda have a pissed off aunt waiting for me outside," I said. "Well, if you'll excuse me,"

I began to walk past her to continue my way out of the academy.

"You're still trying to win the tournament, even though you are sitting at rank 20." I stopped my movements judging by her voice we both still had our backs to each other. "Why, are you still even going to try? It's impossible you'd have to win nineteen straight fights,"

Impossible, eh? Yeah, she's right it is impossible. So why am I still…

"Your right, Aoi," I said.

"Then why bother?"

I looked over my shoulder at her. She was doing the same.

"Good question, I'll answer when I have a good response," I said and continued my way down the hallway.

I exited the academy and located my aunt who was standing by the gates arms cross and a foul expression on her face. I ran up to her as quickly as I could hoping she wasn't too upset about my tardiness.

"About damn time brat, let's go we have a long journey ahead of us," she said as she turned away.

"Where are we going obasan?" I asked as I locked step with her.

"You'll know when we get there, your mother and father are already aware that you are in my care for the next eleven months, also there will be no unnecessary chatter between you and me unless you have a valid question or I am speaking to you do not speak. Lastly," Akako looked at me out the corner of her eye. "Congrats, on being part of the top 1% of your class. You surpassed my expectations,"

At those words, I felt a lump begin to form in my throat. I was emotionally torn in two.

"But, Obasan I'm ranked 20th out of that 1%, that's nothing to be proud of," I said softly. A hand was roughly placed on top of my head and began to make a mess of my already unruly mop of hair.

"You're still part of that 1% doesn't matter if you were ranked number 1 or 20, that's why the tournament exists to see those intangibles that can't be measured on display, you can't measure someone's drive, dedication," she removed her hand and softly placed her fist at the center of my chest. "Or their heart, so hold your head high little Yuudai you've done your part, now let me do mines, and finish making you into a shinobi that will bring pride to the Akamu family name,"

We left the village and began to make our way north. The cold was biting at my face and the wind was making my eyes water, it seemed that the longer we traveled the thinner the air got and the cold got even more bitter than before. Minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days, after a while, I lost track of time and was just walking, one foot in front of the other. My once active mind was now completely devoid of thought the lights were on but I wasn't home. The lack of conversation between me and my aunt was adding to the lack of activity in my head, there was no reason for us to speak to each other. Sure, I wanted to get to know my aunt better but she didn't seem like the type to just come out and tell you about herself. As far as I can tell she was a real bitch and enjoyed being that way, her and my mom were polar opposites in the sense that my mom was open and kind my aunt was cold and secretive. Well, I may be wrong but first impressions are important and that's the vibe that I was getting from her.

After a day of traveling, we reached the mouth of a cave at the base of a large mountain. The mouth of the cave was sealed with large steel doors. These doors had two large kanji symbols carved into it that read 'earth temple' from right to left. Akako walked up the doors and made a seal that I was unfamiliar with and touched the door, chakra flowed through the door in small lines like it had veins and then it began to open slowly. Once fully opened we walked through and entered a corridor lit by torches on both sides to light the pathway. The flames crackled and danced along the walls while also providing a slight bit of warmth, which was welcoming due to the elements that we just finished traveling through. We made our way down the corridor until we exited into a large open area where the temple was. The temple was built from the very stone of the mountain minus the roofing which was made of shingle material in the traditional Japanese format for temples. The large entrance arc had the kanji for 'peace' hanging from it, we walked underneath it and entered the main courtyard. It wasn't long before a man with a shaved head approached us, he was dressed in a brown robe and had large beads hanging from his neck.

"Ah, welcome back lady Akako," the monk said with a slight bow. My aunt returned his gesture.

"Good to be back, how have you been Tora?" she asked.

"I can't complain," he said with a chuckle. His eyes then landed on me. "I see you've brought a guest with you this time,"

"Oh yeah," Akako's hand landed on my back and began to push me forward. "This is Yuudai, my nephew,"

Tora studied me for a bit. It looked like he was trying to draw the correlation in his head between my mother and myself through my appearance. He nodded a few times silently as he pieced things together in his head.

"I see, so this is lady Yuko's son," he said finally. "So he's of that age now huh?"

"Yep, this little punk is going to fight in the best of class tournament, so I brought him here to conduct his training, and introduce him to the rest of the family,"

That caught me off guard, I didn't know much about my family really I just knew my mom, my dad, Akako-obasan, and a few others who lived on our compound in the village. Her statement suggested that I didn't even know how large my family really was. Who were the Akumu? How many people in the land of earth fell under that name? My head was spinning with questions.

"Yuudai!" Akako yelled which snapped me back to reality. She was already far away about to round a corner. I looked at the monk and gave a slight bow before taking off after her. Once I caught up I fell into step with her, we made our way to the largest structure in the temple. There were white beads strung together with white string. We passed through the barrier and was greeted with marble floors and a large statue of a meditating monk with a dragon wrapping around him. The smell of incense filled the room and a solitary figure sat in front of the statue on top of a giant pillow. Akako removed her sandals and began to make her way towards the figure, I quickly followed behind. Akako stopped a few feet shy of the man and sat down.

"Oi, ojiisan you ain't dead are ya?" she said gruffly. There was silence for a second before it was broken.

"Still speaking in such an unladylike tone I see, I guess you'll never grow out of that tomboy phase, Akako," the man said without a single movement. "Your mother would be so hurt if she saw you now,"

"Tch, you know just as well as I do why I'm like this. Don't act dumb ojiisan,"

There was another long pause.

"I see you've brought a visitor," he said.

"Yeah, ojiisan this is Yuudai Yuko's firstborn," she said.

The old man turned around after the introduction, and his face was something to jump at. A long scar that crossed over his left eye and stopped at his chin was the first thing to notice, the beard he grew was long and grey, the wrinkles in his brow were very defined and the one eye that was open was only opened slightly. From a distance it would look like both eyes were closed, another scar graced his cheek in a cross shape pattern. He wore the same robe as the other monks in the temple but his was colored in crimson red, the beads he wore were also different from the others they were like pearls that glisten as soon as the light touched them.

"So you are my great-grandchild hmm?"

"Hai," I said. Promptly I felt a smack on my head.

"Is that any way to speak to your fucking elders?!" Akako yelled. "That's ojii-sama to you punk,"

I rubbed the back of my head trying to make the pain subside in a futile effort.

"Now Akako, you are the last one to talk about manners, because you have none," the old man said with a chuckle. "Now, please if you would I'd like to have some time alone to speak with the child,"

"What could you possibly have to say to this punk in private ojiisan?" Akako said. The old man continued his chuckling. It wasn't directed at Akako personally it was more like he was looking back into the past and was remembering someone who Akako reminded him off.

Akako waited for a response but didn't receive one, she stood up and began to make her exit. "Make it quick ojiisan, we have work to do," she said on her way out of the room.

"Now then Yuudai, as the elder monk of the earth temple I welcome you to your true home,"

"What do you mean? My home is in the village hidden in the stone," I said. At least that's what I thought. The old man let out another chuckle.

"I'm sure you believe that, but this place is where your ancestry began. You come from a long line of ninja monks dating back ages. The Akamu family are originally a family of monks,"

This was contradictory weren't monks all about non-violence? So then why were we a branch of the Tsu? Why where some of us shinobi in the village and if what I'm being told to be true the other half monks? This just didn't add up.

"How can I come from a long line of ninja monks but half the family is shinobi for a hidden village?"

"Well, that is because…" The old man paused in thought for a second before shooting me a smile. "You'll be told in time, right now you don't need to know that much, yet. Just know that this place is your home and you are welcomed here anytime no matter what happens," I was kind of put off by that answer I wanted to know why there was this split in the family. Of course, I had to remember I was a child right now, and right now adults would withhold information from me. "So, you are getting ready to become a shinobi huh?"

"Hai ojii-sama," I said respectfully. Another laugh slipped through his lips.

"Are you prepared for the challenges ahead?" he asked.

That was a good question which caused me to hesitate with my answer.

"I'm ready," I spat out. I was hoping he wouldn't notice the slow answer.

"Took you a bit to answer, which means your heart still wavers. You are a child after all. I want you to think about something while you are here, and before you leave I want you to give me an answer," he said and began to stroke his beard. "The pursuit of power, is it just a trait of evil people or a trait of the delusional?" the old man stood up. "Remember, I want an answer before you leave,"

With that, he left the room and left me with a question that I have never been asked before. I had no idea what angle he was coming from when he was asking me that. I let out a breath and got to my feet, I bowed towards the statue out of respect and began to make my way out of the room. I had training to do.

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A/N: again sorry for the long wait. We had a lot of training to do but as of today I am on leave and I have already started work on the next chapter as well as chapter 8's outline. I hope to have the academy arc wrapped up by chapter 10 and the third shinobi world war should begin shortly after so you guys have a lot to look forward to. hope you all are enjoying the story so far, please review I like hearing from you guys and where you think the story is heading. Also, criticism both positive and negative are welcomed won't improve otherwise... until next time my friends.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

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I woke up in a pool of sweat, I began to look around to figure out where I was exactly.

"About time you woke up, punk," I heard Akako's voice off in the distance. I slowly began to lift my upper body, I felt weak it was really hard to explain this feeling but with every movement, I made my body would protest before conceding to my request. When I finally sat all the way up a bout of dizziness hit me and it was strong enough to cause me to hurl next to me. "Get up Yuudai, if you think I'm feeling sorry for you right now, you're wrong,"

I wiped my chin and began the pain filled process of getting to my feet. My legs shook violently as I tried to reach my full height. Once I was fully stable I returned to the fight stance I was being taught.

"You ready?"

"Hai," I said. Akako disappeared from my field of vision. I closed my eyes and began to focus my other senses. I felt her chakra bouncing around me, the sound of the air being distorted by her body moving through it. It was subtle but I picked up on the change and dodged her first attack but didn't sense an opening, I blocked a kick to my midsection and went for a leg sweep that was easily dodged, she then began throwing multiple palm strikes aimed randomly. I blocked the ones I could and evaded the ones that caught me slightly out of position, I backed away to get a bit of breathing room. I tried not to lose track of her because she would sense that, and knock me out like last time, I fought the fog that was trying to enter my brain through fatigue, Akako's chakra disappeared from my senses but I kept my laser-sharp focus. I waited patiently for her to reveal herself to me, I calmed my breathing to eliminate unnecessary noise and to slow my heart rate. My senses were on high alert I was hearing every small movement from Akako's steps, to the small ant that was crawling just left of my right foot, I was hearing the air but feeling every little disturbance within it. She made her move and I dodged her punch and snatched her arm up, I quickly went for a hip toss, she landed on her feet and I felt the muscles in the arm tense then loosen so I tugged on her arm towards me and grasped ahold of her midsection.

I placed my foot behind hers and kicked it out making her lose her balance, I then slammed my palm right into her stomach. I opened my eyes and was greeted with a smirking Akako.

"Impressive, we'll stop here for today," she got up to her feet. "Go bathe, and get ready for kitchen duty," with that she was gone not a sound of her leaving was made.

I rushed back to the dorms that housed all the male monks and grabbed my towel and robe. I entered the bathhouse and tore my clothes off. Once I rinsed my self off and washed up with soap as well as washed my hair I dumped the basin of water over myself. I made my way to the large steaming tub and entered wasting no time I sank all the way so only my head was exposed.

.Heaven.

My body shook with delight as the hot water began to melt all of today's pain away. This was about the only pleasure I got all day if I wasn't in pain...Then I was sleeping or in the bath. This had been my life for the last six months, I'd wake up around four in the morning and meditate for three hours. The meditation was to help my focus and ability to sense small changes around me, which I can say definitely worked, I didn't rely on my sight anymore to react to things or know something was there all my senses were used. I could paint a mental picture in my head just from my other senses my sight was just used to confirm the information from that mental picture, which in a sense allowed me to fight blind if I needed to.

After that was five hours of conditioning and taijutsu walkthroughs. My family's taijutsu style different from what I was taught in the academy, in the fashion that our style was more of a counterattack based art. There weren't many katas that began with a strike rather they would begin with a block or a grapple to stop an attack. The next four hours went over genjutsu and chakra control, apparently, my ease with genjutsu was hereditary as the majority of my family's jutsu were of the genjutsu variety. That wasn't what I expected I was hoping to learn something… I don't know with more of a bang to it? I mean I have nothing against genjutsu it's just the show never went in-depth on it, plus the most I've seen genjutsu do is create illusions or knock someone out but that's it. Akako wasn't too pleased when I presented these arguments minus the part about the show but in her words "In the right hands, genjutsu can destroy a person's will to fight or cripple an entire army."

It's believable I guess.

I heard a commotion coming from the changing room, evening prayer must have just let out. The monks entered talking about various things that I had no knowledge so I continued to mind my own business. The water shifted with the entrance of more bodies.

"Ah, if it isn't the young lord," came a voice to my left. I looked over and saw Tora's smiling face.

"How many times must I say I'm not a lord," I said. "I'm not the lord of anything,"

"I'll keep saying until you accept your position, as the future head of this family,"

I knew Tora didn't mean anything malicious behind his words, it was just me being uncomfortable being called something that put me above others. Plus I remember my treatment in the academy I didn't feel like I deserved to be placed above anyone.

"It's just weird, in the village I'm just a member of a branch family, but here you guys treat Akako and myself like royalty,"

Tora placed a wet hand on my head.

"Because, if it wasn't for your family," he motioned to the other monks. "We wouldn't be here, a lot of us were lost, wretched individuals. Your family saved us and gave us purpose in life, and for that, we owe a debt that we can never repay. So hold your head high young lord because that is what you are,"

I allowed his words to sink in, there wasn't a single exaggerated sentence. He was completely sincere he truly felt this way and sure I may not have to know what kind of life he led before now, but from the looks of it, he's extremely happy that he left it behind.

"Alright, alright, I get it," I said while standing up. "Everyone enjoy your bath,"

"Enjoy the rest of your evening as well young lord," responded everyone.

I went to my room and changed into a blue mess shirt and some black training pants and tamed my hair that was now down to my shoulders. I had no idea how women do it but hair this long was already becoming a pain, I used a hair tie and made a small ponytail at the nape of my neck and tied it off. I made my way to the kitchen to begin prep work for tonight's meal with the other monks on kitchen duty. Since I was staying here Akako said I needed to contribute something to the temple and not be a freeloader. So every day I help prepare breakfast and dinner for the monks, also I was happy to do so cooking was a passion of mines in my past life. I enjoyed the process of taking ingredients and turning them into something extraordinary, it was like an escape almost. Once I hit the kitchen door I was greeted by all the monks inside. I walked over to the bulletin board that hung right above the prep table looked to see what we were making tonight.

"Grilled fish, huh? What about the side dishes?"

There was nothing written for that but I had a suggestion. I made my way to the large closet where we kept the vegetables. A pungent smell hit my nostrils indicating that something had spoiled. I covered my nose and began to search through the room for a proper addition to our meal. My eyes landed on a red vegetable.

"Beets it is,"

Once we got the kitchen prepped I was placed on grill duty so I had to cook all of the fish. We had enough for everyone to have two so about eighty-five servings total.

"Hey, can someone come to light the coals please?" I asked.

A monk came over with haste and made a hand sign. He inhaled and blew a soft flame onto the coals. I grabbed the fan and began to nurture the small flame so it could grow, I thanked the monk who then went back to his duties. I began to grill the fish that was left in barrels for me, apparently, someone had already cleaned and prepped them, but being the paranoid person that I was I double checked each fish before tossing it onto the grill. The aroma of food began to soon fill the air, pots and pans clattered, people were shouting directions or for help. I would help others when it was possible but only if I could remain at my station, fish cooks fast and the last thing I wanted to have a burnt piece of meat with my meal. It was an unspoken rule in this kitchen: nothing undercooked or burnt would get served to anyone...ever. If you messed up a dish then you just made your plate because food will not go to waste here.

As the fish would enter the last part of the grilling phase, I would have plates ready so I could pull them off the flame, plate them and then pass them down to the next station. We would work quickly but also kept a sharp focus on what we were doing, a well-oiled machine wouldn't have been a sufficient analogy for the precision that was taking place in that kitchen. I for one was still impressed with myself and the level of focus and awareness we all were showing, I looked out at the opening were the other line up to receive their plates and some who had received their food would linger for awhile just to catch a small glimpse of us working. I can't lie it felt great to know someone else was admiring the work that you are doing for them. One after the other the monks came and got their food, what was once a long line quickly dwindled to a couple of people, I just finished plating the last of the fish so I rushed over to the cleaning crew to help them with the dishes that were just being to come in. Finally after an hour, the last of the dishes were washed and it was time for us to eat.

I made my plate and exited the kitchen, I was planning on sitting somewhere in the courtyard before the sound of music began to tingle my ears I began to follow the sounds that were being made and from that guessed that it was a stringed instrument, it baffled me however in the six months of me living here this was the first time hearing this melody. The music got louder the closer I got to the source, it was coming from behind a pillar, I slowly began to near it but made my presence know so I didn't startle them.

"The hell you want, punk?" came my aunt's rough voice. I rounded the pillar and sat in front of her.

"Nothing just want to listen to the great music you were making while I ate dinner," I said as I began to eat. My aunt's cheeks were flushed and her eyes were low I looked down and saw a large sake bottle that was halfway gone. She didn't seem drunk nor did she talk like it either. "What is that instrument called?" I asked.

She looked at me for a second, then picked the bottle up and poured in into the cup that was sitting there, she lifted the cup to her lips and tilted her head back. A small sigh slipped through her lips before setting the small cup down.

"It's a shamisen," she said.

Not that I knew what it was everything about this culture was still new to me.

"I didn't know you liked music, oba-san,"

"Yeah? Well what of it," she said defensively. "Say something to anyone and I'll kill you with my own two hands, got it?"

I just nodded and continued to eat my meal, my aunt began to play again. The sounds that came from the shamisen were exciting, like it was electrifying the very air around us, as I ate I had to resist the urge to move… I just wanted to move my body that was the kind of energy that was being released. My aunt was masterfully blending melodies together it was like watching a painter paint a masterpiece right before your very eyes, I couldn't help but close my eyes and just get lost in the music for a second. Then she slowed the melody but that energy never left, before I knew it I had finished my meal and was just sitting there watching, mesmerized by her talent. The music stopped and I slowly snapped back to reality, it was hard to believe that my aunt; Akako was not only musically inclined but damn good at it too, what added to the shock value was she didn't seem nor look like the type. Here she was though sitting here with a shamisen in her lap and a bottle of sake near her knee.

"Who taught you how to play?" I asked. Akako took another drink.

"My father, when I was a kid he would play it all the time while he drank, just like this," she said. I could see her eyes glisten just a bit as she remembered the fond memory. "I would beg him to teach me at night after dinner, and he would laugh and say 'when you're a bit older, maybe', I don't think he wanted to take my attention away from being a shinobi,"

"Oh, well-"

"Anyways," she said cutting me off mid-sentence. "Tomorrow, I'll begin teaching you two of the family's genjutsu techniques, I hope you haven't been slacking on your chakra control drills,"

"I have not, but oba-san can I please ask you one more question?" I said hoping she would give me the audience. Akako looked at me with a sharp look like she was irritated that I hadn't left yet.

"What you want, punk," she said finally.

"Umm, well, would you mind teaching me how to play too?"

She looked up slightly, I could tell what emotions were flowing through her body, nor the thoughts in her head, years of being a shinobi has trained her to give away little in terms of signals. Then I heard a small scoff and then a light chuckle.

"Sure, but only if you do well in your training each day, little Yuudai," she said. "Now get, you need your rest for tomorrow,"

With that, not another word was uttered between us I picked up my plates and left her, as she began to play again, but I felt a sense of accomplishment. I felt as if I cracked her barrier that she had up just a bit with this new discovery about her, maybe my aunt isn't a total bitch after all.

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The next day began a bit differently than my usual training days, first thing in the morning I was standing in the training pit with my aunt.

"Alright punk, the first thing we need to go over is what is a genjutsu?" she asked. Seemed like a very straightforward question.

"A genjutsu is a technique that affects the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch," I spat out the book answer like any young shinobi would. Akako sighed.

"Well, you're not wrong because that's the book answer, now I'll tell you the answer that we; the Akamu use, a genjutsu is any technique that affects the flow of information to the brain," she said. I was confused.

"Isn't that basically the same thing just said differently?" I asked. Akako began to laugh, of course, she knew something that I didn't, however, it's not my fault the show did an absolute shit job at explaining genjutsu. I mean defining an illusion isn't difficult but it was just the abstract way the show explained it.

"So, little Yuudai allow me to pose another question, what other senses do you have other than the five main physical senses?" Other senses? What in the world is she talking about? "Come on, you use two of them every day," she said prodding me to answer.

"I-I don't know," I said softly. Another sigh from my aunt. "It's not my fault I never thought that there were more than five senses," I said trying to defend myself.

"Remember the definition I just gave to you earlier? There was a reason why we use that definition instead of the book definition, reason being is because the brain is the real target of genjutsu, not the senses. Think about what your senses do, they feed the brain information, now your five basic senses are just that basic physical senses, however in total your brain receives stimulus from a total of eighteen individual senses. The other thirteen are pressure, itch, temperature, pain, thirst, hunger, direction, time, muscle tension, proprioception, balance, stretching, and chemoreceptors,"

"Wait, some of these are cover by the five basic senses though, right?"

"Not to your brain, let me break it down like this, think about your five basic senses majority of them are external meaning they collect information for your brain to tell it what is going on outside or around your body, now the other senses I've just mentioned are like enhancers to paint an even clearer picture, so your brain can respond to what is happening accordingly. Now imagine how detrimental it would be if some shinobi came along and was able to not only manipulate the five senses but all eighteen at will and with precision, effectively recreating real things that can and will happen to the body, this is what separates our genjutsu from those who use cheap parlor tricks, where most simply go after the senses that can be easily perceived as an illusion. We attack the most important organ in the body in a way that forces it to believe what is happening around it is REAL, and a threat to the body's very survival based of the information it is receiving from multiple senses at one time, understood?" That actually made sense, I honestly thought I was going to get this abstract answer as to how these techniques were going to be used in a fight, but it's pretty simple attack the brain until you either break it or kill the enemy, now I was excited to learn my family's jutsu. "So first up is the sense of time, the technique you'll learn is a basic but extremely efficient jutsu we call 'Dark hold',"

Akako then reached into her pocket and pulled out an object tossing it to me once it was free from her clothing. I caught said object to see that it was a pocket watch. The second's hand was silently ticking around the face.

"Pay attention to that watch, don't move," Akako said sternly.

I continued to focus on the watch, nothing seemed to change at first until I began to notice the second's hand had a lag to it. It wasn't an extreme lag but it was noticeable, then it stopped moving completely it wasn't long but my body felt like for a moment time completely stopped entirely.

"So, how was your first-time lapse experience hmmm?"

I jump out of my skin and scrambled away from my aunt who was now standing behind me.

"When did you move?" I asked.

"Oh, I'd been here for the last two minutes watching you be mesmerized by the hands on a watch," Two minutes?! That's how much time lapsed?! I could have sworn it was a second maybe two, but no longer than that. There was no way. "Now do you see why your family is so dangerous?" she asked with a sly grin. "In that state, you were completely vulnerable and unaware of what was going on around you, time in your mind had stopped but I sent your brain signals that only a few seconds had gone by when in reality, minutes had passed. Your mother is even better at this jutsu than I am, she can hold someone in this technique for days, ask your father about when he forgot their anniversary when he got on his hands and knees asking for forgiveness she left him in that position for four days,"

That was unbelievable to the point that I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea. This was something that I had never experienced before or maybe I had and just never noticed it but what I could say was that this was where my love for genjutsu began. I was now curious as to how far I could expand on this and other techniques, how much was still unknown about the human senses and ways they could be manipulated? The answer wasn't going to be found unless someone did the dirty work, I decided that someone would be me.

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A/N: Sup people, hope you enjoyed this installment. As planned chapter 10 will be the finale of this arc and then we are going to get into some real gritty and grimy stuff. Just want to warn you ahead of time, as always thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read my story, please review and tell me what you think about the story so I can improve… until next time my friends.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

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My last week in the temple was spent resting much to my dismay, but my aunt wasn't trying to hear any of my complaints. I felt that I was wasting valuable time just sitting around and cooking meals. I wanted to keep improving, and maybe I was being too hasty about this but how couldn't I? I had to win nineteen fights in a row to achieve my goal, and just sitting here was making me restless. The soft snores from the other monks weren't helping either I never noticed how noisy the bay was when full of sleeping bodies, I was usually too tired to notice. I rolled out of bed and made my way to the door, I slipped on my sandals and quietly exited the building.

I slowly crossed the courtyard towards the main worship building. I opened the large metal door and slipped through a crack just big enough for my slender frame and shut it behind me. The room was still lit with candles and the smell of incense permeated the room, my body even my very soul began to relax instantly like there was a spell placed upon this hollow place.

"Well, well, look who came to visit," came my great grandfather's voice. I immediately seized from shock. "Relax child, your aunt isn't here, come, have a seat next to me," I removed my sandals and walked towards the statue, my soft steps sounded like they were echoing through the room, or maybe it was just my acute sense of hearing that I gained throughout my time here. Once I reached my destination I bowed to the statue and sat down. Silence followed but it wasn't the awkward kind, it was peaceful. "So, what brings you here in the dead of night hmm?"

"I couldn't sleep ojii-sama, my mind was restless," I said quietly.

"Restless hmmm? What about my child?"

"The future," I said trying to keep my answer vague. A soft chuckle shook his body.

"Ahhh, the joys of being young, you think of the future while us who are old dwell in the past," he said. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to be young again,"

There was another long pause. The flames from the candles made our shadows dance on the marble floor we sat on.

"Ojii-sama can I ask a question?"

"What is it, child?"

"Where you a shinobi for the village at one point in time?"

Another pause, I looked over to see his eyes closed but I didn't get the feeling that he was actually pondering my question, not in a manner of dismissal anyways.

"I wasn't what you would call a shinobi, however, I was a warrior in my younger years, now allow me to ask you a question, what do you think the difference is between the two?"

I thought about the question and really I couldn't come up with much. In my eyes shinobi and warriors were one and the same, they both fought in wars, they both defend their homelands, what could the angle that he's coming from be?

"I don't know," I said. He let out a chuckle.

"It's good that you don't, maybe one day when you find out you can tell me,"

"Why can't you just tell me, ojii-sama?" he began to rub his long beard, slowly stroking it as he thought of an answer.

"Because to do so would take the fun out of life, don't you think? I could tell you everything you'd want to know but how would that help you?"

"It would help me by giving me the knowledge so I can avoid the same mistakes you and others have made," I said reflexively. It was a common understanding that the old were supposed to guide the young and steer them away from their own reckless behavior, thus keeping them from destroying themselves in the process of their growth. That was my philosophy at least.

"Hmmm, even if I were to give you such knowledge you wouldn't be able to avoid mistakes that I've made because I have not mentioned any,"

"Are you saying your perfect, ojii-sama?" I asked. He laughed at that response.

"Of course not far from it, but suggesting that knowledge that I have gained throughout my life will help you in any way would be… foolish to say the least, this world we live in is not static but fluid the battles that I had to fight will not be the ones you will have to fight,"

Well, true but still…

"Even if the battles aren't the same the situation that the battles come from can be," I countered.

"That is based on perspective, listen to me child do you know why people do not use the advice given to them?"

I was silent, I didn't.

"Because our perspective of the situation is different, what you see may not be exactly what I see. Thus, what you believe to be the solution will not be the same as my solution, and really neither one of us can be wrong if we are speaking in terms of perspective because our perspectives are biased, objectively we will be wrong because of that bias,"

"True… however, what if one can put away that bias?"

My great grandfather stood up.

"If such a person existed, then the world would be in trouble. The ability to put away one's own bias, and see the world through an objective lens at all times no matter the situation. That person would never be wrong both prospectively and objectively speaking… he'd be God in wrapped in human flesh." My grandfather's hand rested on top of my head. "You remind me so much of my son when he was your age, you are an intelligent one and at such a tender age too, never lose that for it will guide you out of many problems you will face and keep you out of trouble. You don't need my knowledge for you have a gift that many would give their lives for; wisdom. Now come, let us get some sleep,"

I sat still for a second, still pondering his words. What if he was right? I never heard of such an explanation as to why someone wouldn't pass down life lessons. Was life better that way? Was it better to just fumble through it and learn from your mistakes? What had I learned throughout my first twenty-five of living… not much. Other than effective ways of killing people, surviving outside civilization and analyzation skills, I learned nothing of great importance. What if that is why he won't tell me anything, because despite his age he only knows but so much, and maybe what he knows and has learned cannot help me in any way, shape, or form.

Even if it could what if I thought he was wrong? I would just dismiss his words because my worldview is different, my bias would not allow me to see things from his perspective. So why waste the time teaching someone a lesson that they won't use nor listen to? Well, there wasn't a reasonable answer to that question, you wouldn't it's just that simple. On top of that my experiences in this world will affect how I see it and like he said the world isn't static, it changes with time. I felt a small smirk grace my lips, maybe he's right life just might be a bit more fun like this.

"Ojii-sama, remember that question you asked me when I first arrived?"

"Of course,"

"I think I'll need an extension,"

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I returned to the village the day of the tournament, and the village was bustling. People were moving everywhere, it was chaos pure chaos. People were running with things in their hands while trying not to run into someone else with stuff in their hands as well. Banners were hanging from everywhere welcoming the daimyo, if he had already arrived was a whole different story. My aunt moved through the crowd fluidly never brushing or bumping anyone, like she wasn't even there, I, on the other hand, was struggling to keep up due to the fact that I was running into someone every five seconds or so.

I never saw the village this lively before, well really I barely saw the village at all. I can only remember two times which was before I entered the academy and before I left for training. Still, I never recalled there being THIS many people living in the village, maybe some are from the capitol? Whatever the case it was frustrating me trying to move through this large body of people.

"Oi, keep up punk," yelled Akako as she looked over her shoulder. "At this rate, you'll be disqualified before having a chance to fight,"

I began slinking my way towards her squeezing between people a bit more forcefully, I got a lot of dirty looks and snide comments while doing it but they didn't matter, I couldn't get disqualified not after the hell I was just put through just to make it to this point. The crowd became thicker the closer we got to the academy but we had cut off and gone around back, as we approached the backside of the academy my nerves began to hit me. The butterflies began to swarm in my belly, my palms became saturated with sweat. Small shivers would pass through me and it wasn't because of the weather, on the outside I looked fine but on the inside, I was a wreck. These feelings weren't foreign to me, the same use to happen to me before I would play basketball in school, it was natural. I had worked my ass off and now it was time to put up or shut up.

My aunt stopped moving once she reached the door.

"All right punk, it's on you now I've done my part," she said with her back to me.

"Hai, oba-san I will not shame our family name," I said as I clenched my fists.

"You better not, especially with everyone watching, especially with me watching got it punk?"

"Hai,"

With that Akako disappeared from my senses, I gave myself a good slap to the face and entered the academy. The halls were just as packed as the village was, again making my travels difficult much to my irritation. I just needed to make it to the locker room and end this frustrating endeavor. There were many eyes that I caught staring at my attire, I was wearing the cloak that the monks of the temple would wear during travels, it's dark black color swallowed me like the night in an alleyway while the golden snap clipped right at the clavicle and from it hung a golden kanji charm for earth. Underneath I was wearing the robes the monks would wear for physical training, I wasn't just representing myself but my whole family I wanted the physical reminder of that.

I finally reached my destination and slid the door open. Once I walked in the room grew quiet, all of the contestants were here and all eyes were on me, I found me a spot in the corner and stood quietly, eyes closed. It was cliche but hey I've always wanted to pull the cool guy entrance off, a small conversation began to pick up again, but I knew the insults would soon come.

"Oi, Yuudai,"

See what I tell you?

I looked up to see Ryojin and Keita only a foot away from me. I blew out a breath.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

"Not show up, because it will be pointless to watch your fight," Ryojin said. Keita and some of the other kids began to laugh. God that wasn't even funny it was juvenile at best.

"Well, I'm sorry that I don't have your interest Ryojin-sama, but," I looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm not upset that I don't have the interest from an ignorant gorilla," Ryojin's face contorted in anger, I got to him so easily. He took a swing at me and I blocked it with the back of my hand. "Oh my, Ryojin-sama please control yourself the games haven't begun yet,"

"You-"

"Enough," Aoi said. "Settle your score out there,"

"Tch, like he'll make it that far,"

After the little squabble settled a few moments went by when the crowd that we could once hear become dead silent. There was a muffled voice that talked whom I can only assume to be the Tsuchikage addressing the village. I didn't catch anything he said and I didn't care to, the only thing I wanted to do right now was fight. Not very much longer and instructor opened the door to the tunnel leading to the area.

"Rank 20 and 19, let's go,"

I moved from my spot and made my way through the door. I could hear my heart pound as the light at the end of the tunnel got closer and closer. The butterflies came back but this wasn't like the bout that I dealt with earlier, it was hard to put into words but it was comforting almost. Once I crossed through that threshold of light the crowd erupted with deafening cheers, I looked around the outside of the ring and saw more benches had been set up for the four clans to watch the action up close.

"Yuudai!"

I turned to my left as I walked past the Tsu's section to see my mother and father standing with the proudest looks on their faces, It really jerked at my heartstrings because I hadn't seen them since my 5th birthday. I gave them a slight wave and a smile before I turned towards the stairs and walked up onto the stage. The crowd was rocking, my heart was racing, my adrenaline was flowing, since my rebirth, I have never felt more alive than I have at this moment. My opponent was lined across from me in between us was an instructor to referee the fight.

"Yuudai, you should withdraw," said my opponent.

"Who are you again?" I asked genuinely. Really didn't pay attention to all the other people I had to beat just to make it to the top five, call me what you will but they just didn't matter to me all that much. The boy in question had an exasperated look on his face, appalled by the idea that I didn't know who he was, I didn't bother to know many people, to begin with.

"The names Ren proud member of the Ko's branch family, the Nozoki, and ranked 8th in the infantry class,"

I scoffed, really the nerve of this guy.

"Only ranked 8th? And you're telling me to withdraw? Tell you what," I pointed to my headband that was secured to my forehead. "If you can land one scratch on my headband I'll forfeit the match,"

"Are you mocking me?" he asked.

"No, I'm challenging you to make this interesting for me," I said with a grin. "Now, please entertain me, 8th rank-kun"

I could tell he was furious by now and ready to tear me a new one.

"Are you both ready?" the referee asked, we both nodded. "Then you may begin!"

Ren exploded towards me and began to unload with a flurry of punches and kicks, none of which landed as I weaved through each attack he attempted without effort. His moves were clear to me like watching him move in slow motion, I'm sure he wasn't aware that I had been fighting a Jonin using 20% of her ability day in and out, his moves were completely telegraphed. Another roundhouse kick came and I ducked underneath it, Ren pushed away from me creating some distance and threw some shuriken at me. I quickly pulled out a kunai and deflected any that came near me before sheathing it in my back pouch. Ren's hands formed the snake seal once I trained my eyes back on him.

"Earth Release: Earth spire jutsu!"

The ground underneath me began to warp and then shot up large spikes out of the ground, I used the body flicker to move around the spikes one after the other still keeping my eyesight on Ren.

"Stay still damn you," he gritted out.

"Now, where's the fun in that?" I asked. "All you have to do is land one hit to my forehead and this will be over,"

"How about you stop playing games, and fight like a shinobi of the stone!" he exclaimed. I wasn't done toying with him yet, however, I couldn't ignore his last statement. All right if he wanted this to end now, I'd oblige. I dodged another spike and then cleared out of his range for that jutsu.

"All right and here I am trying to be nice to you, giving you a chance to shine in the spotlight, but since you want me to fight you so bad… don't hate me for your decision" I said coldly. I formed a snake seal determined to end this match swiftly. "Twin phantasm,"

Ren's eyes narrowed at what he saw, or what he thought he was seeing, my shadow had detached from my body and was now standing next to me. I closed the distance between us with haste not wanting him to formulate a counter, I slammed my fist right into his jaw and my shadow followed up with a punch that drove him into the ground. Ren disappeared in a puff of smoke and tried my flank, my shadow stepped in front of him and blocked his counter and I drove my knee right into his gut sending him flying across the ring, before he even hit the ground my shadow and I were running alongside him and dropped one leg on top of him driving Ren into the ground. The force cracked the ring a bit and I felt Ren's chakra almost disappeared, but he was still alive. My shadow reattached to me as I looked at Ren's motionless body.

"Jeez, you weren't even worth 20% of my effort, and you talked so big too," I turned away from him and allowed the medical personnel to pass me. "I hope rank 18 won't be an utter disappointment too,"

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A/N: Hey, sorry for another short chapter but I need to save something for the last two chapters in this arc. Please review good or bad I like them all because you took the time out to do so and I appreciate it really I do… until next time my friends.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

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Rank 11 was putting up a good fight, she was fast, cunning, and a good tactician. Fighting close range wasn't helping me close this fight out and really I needed to conserve my energy and chakra.

"Come on, where's the kid who just crushed eight of his classmates like it was nothing?" she had asked. I began to formulate a plan because by now I'm sure everyone had some form of a strategy planned for me, I could use Twin Phantasm again but if someone were to figure out that really it was a genjutsu that looked like a ninjutsu I'd be screwed. Dark Hold was completely out of the question that was single-handedly my 2nd strongest jutsu in my arsenal and if I brought it out this early it would get countered later. I stared down at my opponent trying to look for any signs of movement, I needed time. I weaved some signs and slammed my hand to the ground.

"Earth Release: Shadow clone jutsu," two clones formed from out the ground. They charged her as I hung back, as the clones attacked I continued to analyze her movements looking for a weakness. She was dodging the clones effortlessly, which frustrated me a bit I never knew the medical corps had fighters like this. Rank 11 was Noelle a member of the medical class. She was from a civilian family, a first generation shinobi, where she was at in terms of skill was incredible for someone with no family jutsu or major clan support. The fact that she was stalling me out trying to force me to use one of my trump cards was a testament to her talent. I watched as she dispatched both of my clones.

"Done playing games Yuudai?" she asked with a smug look on her face. "I want you to fight me at full strength, It doesn't mean anything to me if I beat my Idol's son and he was half-assing the whole time,"

She really wanted my best huh? Well then let's do this, I pulled out a sealing scroll from my pouch, I snapped it open and ran chakra through the seal and out popped my bokken.

"Well then, just for you Noelle I'm going to show you something that few will get to see first hand, I hope you've prepared yourself," I said. Noelle got into a fighter's stance.

"I was born ready," she said.

I would only get one shot at this working but it was worth that shot. I quickly prepped my chakra so I could release the jutsu in a split second. I was a blur and got inside her guard she wasn't surprised as she easily stepped just a hair outside my swing. She was fast to counter aiming a punch right for my face that I slipped and then soft blocked a kick that came from my right with my bokken, in one fluid motion I used the momentum of her kick to throw her off balance and go in for another attack. She shouldn't have been in a position to counter but as I tried for another swing she contorted her body and jumped over my bokken, she cleared it like a graceful high jumper and landed on her feet. She tried a straight kick this time which grazed my left cheek, I still kept my chakra coiled up ready to explode at a moment's notice the hard part was finished. I backed up a bit and charged her again.

"How many times are you going to do the same thing over and over again?!" she yelled. Once I got in range I started my swing. Noelle began to dodge and once she did I moved with inhuman speed to the right of her, the same direction she was moving towards. The look she shot me in that second was one of absolute shock, this whole fight I hadn't been using my speed to its fullest extent. I pushed all my stored up chakra into my sword and released it all at once as I swung from left to right.

"Akamu sword art # 2: Shippuuga!"

All the air rushed to my right it felt like I was in the middle of a crosswind, Noelle took the brunt of the shockwave created and went flying into the arena wall, she smashed into it and caused visible cracks to form. She fell to the ground without any resistance, and I fell backward landing on my butt and then laid back.

Nine down, ten to go.

I heard footsteps approach me.

"Do you require medical attention?" the proctor asked.

"No," I said swiftly. I took in a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm fine,"

"Do you wish to continue fighting?"

"As long as I can still breath I'm going to continue,"

"Then you have thirty minutes until your next fight in that time you may do whatever you want,"

I was tired, I couldn't lie. True my training was way worse than this but this is the difference between training and a real fight, training you can pull punches keep a bit in the reserves so you don't completely tire yourself out plus on top of it you get to take a timeout when you need it. I just fought nine people straight and won all of them no brakes, now here comes the hard part which was fatigue management. I sat up and looked around for a bit before I got up and made my way to the Tsu's benches they had set up. My mother was already by the stairs along with my father and other members of our family. I could see all of their proud faces, bright smiles, warm gazes. It was comforting to know that they were appreciating the show I was putting on. Everyone was encouraging me to keep going, keep fighting hard, don't quit.

"Great job out there kid," my father said as he ruffled my hair. "You look unstoppable out there,"

"I don't know about all that," I said with a laugh. I just hoped I could keep this pace up. I really underestimated how hard this task would be, I saw a canteen appear out the corner of my eye.

"Here, drink up," came my mother's voice from behind me. I grabbed hold of the canteen and began to guzzle down its content. "Slow down Yuudai, it's not going to run away from you," my mother scolded. I didn't even know how thirsty I was until I took the first gulp, this was another factor I needed to consider, I had to worry about how hydrated my body was on top of how much chakra I had left and managing any injuries that I would sustain. That was an inevitable fact that I would get hurt by someone soon, It was the top ten now these kids would definitely find a way to put me out of the tournament if it meant breaking something in my body then so be it. I handed the canteen back to my mother.

"Hey, okaa-chan when you were fighting in this tournament, what did you do when you got tired? What did you use as your motivation to win?"

My mother paused for a second. Then a small smile graced her features.

"Well, I would think about when I was told I was too small to be an effective shinobi when I was told I wouldn't graduate, I would let those emotions consume me and from there would use that as fuel to keep pushing forward,"

I then turned to my dad. He looked at me with a slightly embarrassed look.

"Ah, well you see, I didn't have much motivation back then so I didn't participate in the tournament," he said with a chuckle. "I kind of just dropped out, just so I could relax,"

"He just didn't want to get his ass kicked by your mother that's all," Akako interjected.

"Don't you dare slander me in front of my boy, Akako!" my father yelled. Akako burst into laughter.

"It can't be slander if it's true," Akako said with a bubbly voice which was the first time I had ever heard her talk like that. I saw the proctor approach the edge of the ring out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, break time is over let's go, kid," yelled the proctor. I nodded and turned back to my family.

"Gotta, go," I said. I turned away and received a slap on the back.

"Go get em, son," my father said. I nodded my head and walked up the stairs.

"Yo, brat kicks it up another notch now, your in the top ten better fight like it," yelled my aunt.

Five more people stand in my way before the tournament really begins for me. I found were the top five were sitting. They were right next to the Tsuchikage all sitting from rank one being the closest to him to rank five, I pointed right in their direction and made my declaration.

"I'm coming for all of you real soon!" I exclaimed. I turned back to my opponent who was staring me down with a disgusting look. "Just you wait I'll have all of you signing my praise,"

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I scrapped rank 10 quickly, thanks to the break I had and quickly moved on to rank 9. Things got heated for a bit but once I pulled my bokken out I would win that fight pretty easily. I was avoiding any of my more chakra taxing jutsu, which I could say was the reason fights would drag on. At this point, everyone here could counter and of the basic academy techniques, so matches would turn into a game of who will flinch on defense first. Rank 8 was a fight that personified this, I was against a person who was just as long-winded as I was in a fight, plus with him being an engineer and also possessing the Explosion Kekki Genkai, Needless to say, I won but not after sustaining a few burns on my arms and legs which was a bother to me when I would try to guard against an attack, I was asked if I wanted to withdraw but declined. Rank 7 almost made me quit thanks to the Ko's clan jutsu which centered around changing the weight of objects they come into contact with. I would have lost that match if it wasn't for Dark Hold and some impeccable timing that I had. I really didn't know how much longer I could hold out though, I had broken the second wind threshold and my exhaustion had faded for a bit. I knew it would come back the only question was when would it hit. That was answered during the rank 6 match, I was sluggish in every aspect of the word. Slow to attack, slow to counter, slow in my thought process, and my opponent would capitalize on every mistake that I made. At one point he had beat me down so bad that I almost didn't answer the proctor's count. I pulled out the win in that fight through willpower alone.

This was it I was in the top five now so I got an hour break, which I was currently thanking the powers that be for. As I sat with my family I could see Aoi making her way over to our area. Once she reached us she immediately bowed.

"Good day to you all," she said, "May I speak with Yuudai in private?"

My mother gave the girl a soft look. "Raise your head Aoi, you don't have to be so formal with us," I turned back to my mother with a shocked expression written all over my face. "What is that look for Yuudai? I am good friends with this girl's mother so of course I would know her name, now go so you can come back and relax,"

I stood up and walked away with Aoi, we entered the locker room through the tunnel giving us the privacy we needed to discuss whatever Aoi had on her mind. Aoi still looked rather uncomfortable and her eyes continued to dash all around the room as if she was trying to make absolutely sure we were alone. I felt for any signatures or abnormalities within and around the room… I didn't pick up anything.

"You gonna keep scanning for someone who isn't there, or are you gonna tell me what this is all about?" I asked.

"Yuudai, you need to withdraw now,"

I scoffed at her statement. It blew my mind that she would even ask of me such an absurd request.

"Why would you ask me to do something like that? You're wasting my time,"

"Please Yuudai, listen to me the heirs will not fight fair against you, Mikoto-sama has already handed out a special blend of soldier pill to the others, they are planning to crush you,"

I figured that much, I mean at one point in time I wasn't much of a threat to them. So my declarations of beating them fell on deaf ears, people with power always act the same, they never notice the common person until one rises and threatens their authority over the others. If I beat them they know they lose face and not just them their family as well because how can you rule over someone stronger than you? You can't.

"Then let them come, I'll snatch the dreams of victory from them," I said. I turned to leave and felt her hand grab hold of mines tightly. "Let go, Aoi,"

"No!" she yelled defiantly. "You are about to put yourself in harm's way for something as petty as pride, and recognition, you've made it to the top five everyone in the crowd can see that you are more than your ranking. Even I have to acknowledge the talents that you have put on display for us, but you want to tell me that even that isn't enough for you?" No, it wasn't enough. I roughly snatched my hand out of Aoi's grasp and began to walk away. "Aren't you going to answer me?"

"Why should I? I don't owe you an explanation for my actions. It's not like we're friends," I said.

"Really?! I don't have to be a friend to-"

"To what? Voice your fears for my safety? Please, you're not doing me any favors by telling me what the four stooges are up to," I began to walk down the dark tunnel. "Trust me when I tell you, I've been holding back this entire time just so I can give the top five all I got. You should learn to worry about yourself before you worry about others, Aoi,"

I began to exit the tunnel and felt Akako signature near the exit.

"So, care to explain what that was all about?" she asked.

"Nothing worth talking about," I said dismissively. "Is it ok if I let loose from here on out?"

A smile appeared on my aunt's face.

"Heh, alright punk you have my permission, remember to not go overboard with it you still are a long ways away from mastering a lot of the techniques I've taught you,"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't even get to that point,"

Soon after my break was over, I stood in the center of the ring as I awaited Ryojin to come. I finally began to make out his burly frame making its way towards the ring. Once he began to climb the stairs a spark of anger began to consume my heart. I still remember that evening in the hallway, how they all ganged up on me and tried to force me to submit to them. As he drew closer the flame in my heart intensified, it was almost like I was trying to contain a raging wildfire inside of me. The moment that I've been training for was finally here, it was time to let them feel everything that I had saved up just for them.

"Heh, didn't think you would make it this far, I was really thought that you would have been sent home crying a long time ago," Ryojin said. His voice was condescending, it pissed me off even more.

I didn't respond. I just want the fight to start, I kept my chakra in my legs curled up ready to burst at a moment's notice. I want to end this quickly to shock the rest of my opponents into a state of worry. I hadn't used two of the four family jutsu I knew, I was tired but still, I felt relaxed, if I was Ryojin I would be a little worried because I hadn't shown much for him to have a solid plan to counter me. This was going to be a tough fight for him.

"Are both combatants ready?" asked the proctor. The crowd was quiet with anticipation that permeated the air, my acute senses were even picking up some light feel of it. Who would win they wondered, would it be the kid who started from the bottom? Or would the ruling class prove why they are superior? We both got into a fighting stance.

"Then begin,"

I released the chakra I was storing and used that speed to take Ryojin by surprise, appearing in front of him I slammed my fist right into his solar plexus, drawing rough grunt I sent him flying away from me. I didn't give chase, I knew better Ryojin was an infantryman all he did was fight he would be prepared for a follow-up attack, I need to pick out my attacks wisely. Ryojin recovered quickly and formed seals for a jutsu.

"Earth release: Structural Upheaval!"

He slammed both hands to the ground and caused the entire ring to crack and lose its uniform look, some parts were jagged and would be an absolute nightmare to try and fight on.

"Tch, trying to slow me down huh?"

I tested my footing on the new surface, shuffling my feet from left to right feeling the and hearing the loose rocks grind against the soles of my sandals. It was a bit slippery but doable especially with chakra, I pushed a small amount to my feet to give me a bit more grip before taking off again at breakneck speed.

"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"

I quickly changed direction toward his left flank and closed in for another attack, but suddenly another wall was erected in my direction of travel and forced me to put the brakes on. Just as I was slowing down the wall dropped instantly and Ryojin socked me right in the jaw, then another punch to the gut, followed by an uppercut, finally a double-fisted chop to my neck drove me into the ground. I tried to get up but my face was stomped back into the concrete.

"See, this is how you should position yourself when in the presence of those who are superior to you," I tried to remove his foot but received a kick for my efforts. "We let you get away with a lot of disrespectful actions Yuudai, today you will learn your place,"

That fire within me got hotter, I was sick of these kids they haven't achieved anything of value in life nor shown any good leadership qualities. I grabbed his foot again and in one swift motion I threw him off and was back on my feet.

"I've told you before, I don't respect cowards," I said smugly. "Learn my place? I'm not stupid I'm fully aware of my place in this village, however," I weaved my seals for Twin Phantasm. "It doesn't mean I have to accept it, your family hasn't fought and bled for this land like mines have. Prepare yourself Ryojin because I'm about to show you just how large the skill gap between us really is,"

My shadow slowly began to snake in front of me, it stood up and went after Ryojin. I cut the opposite and threw multiple shuriken and kunai at him. He avoided my shadow's first attack then threw up a wall to stop all the projectiles coming his way. I pinched him in between my shadow and myself I was going high and my clone was aiming low. In an instant, my clone disappeared now it was two of me coming from the same direction. I kicked Ryojin in the side of the head and his rib cage smashing him through his wall, he recovered quickly only to take another kick to the chin and another punch to the gut. I had kept up my onslaught by constantly changing my attacking angles and manipulation of his senses keeping him in a consistent state of confusion.

"Whats wrong Ryojin? I thought you were going to show me my place?" I said as I socked him in the mouth again. "Just give up, and save face. You can't beat me, you know it and everyone here knows it,"

"Shut up!" he yelled as he charged me once more, I slipped the punch he threw and drove my knee into his stomach and then giving him a chop to the neck.

"I have been wondering something," I said. "You see with my earlier battle with a member of your family I'm pretty sure he was using a special form of ninjutsu that your clan is known for, it had to do with gravity, so why haven't you used it yet?" I asked. I got no response as he tried to get back up. I drove a kick right into his midsection. "You would probably be able to turn the tide of this battle if you did, so what's the holdup? You want to win don't you?"

"Shut up," Ryojin rasped out still struggling to get to his feet. "I just don't want to waste it on scum like you,"

"Oh? Really? That the best excuse you can come up with?" I asked as I kicked his weak legs out from under him. "You know what I think?" I slammed my foot into his chest. "I think you just can't use your family's jutsu, you have no affinity for it,"

"Your wrong! I can use it!" Ryojin shouted.

"Then use it, go on use it on my foot," I said with a smug grin plastered on my face. Ryojin grabbed my foot and made a half seal, and nothing happened. I felt nothing and the amount of pressure I was applying didn't change either.

I was right, he couldn't use his family's techniques. I began to laugh uncontrollably this was just too ironic.

"Man, this is great, the same person who bullied me for the last two years, can't even use the jutsu his own family made. He can't beat someone two years his junior!" I said between laughs. I began stomping him into the ground. "You said I needed to learn my place! Look at you! Defective trash! A failure!" I shouted before kicking him across the ring. Ryojin still struggled to get to his feet. I used a body flicker and appeared right in front of him, I reached for his headband and snatched it off his head. "You don't deserve this! You didn't earn this! Unlike myself who slaved and suffered for this, you have done nothing, and yet you wish for me to bow my head to someone who is weaker?!" I tossed his headband out of the ring. "Quit playing shinobi Ryojin, you'll just get yourself or someone else killed, this fight is over,"

The look of shock on his face was all I needed to know that his will to fight was completely broken. He should have broken my arm once I tried to snatch his headband, the level of disrespect I just showed him should have been enough motivation to kill me but he did nothing. His career as a shinobi in this village was probably over before it even began, not that I cared, he did it to himself.

I suddenly felt a presence to my left, I ducked and felt the air heat up I quickly got out of range of the ensuing explosion.

"YUUDAI!" Keita yelled my name in pure anger. "You, I'll kill you!"

"Please, don't threaten me with a good time Keita-sama," I joked. I could tell he was serious. Killing intent was flowing off of him in waves, and there was a part of me that was happy that it was directed at me. I had their undivided attention now.

"Mikoto! Forfeit your match!" he yelled into the stands. The proctor turned towards that direction.

"Do you forfeit your match?" he asked.

"Yes!" she yelled.

"Then the next match will be rank 20 Yuudai vs rank 3 Keita"

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A/N: Sorry for the time between updates. So there you have it Ryojin can't use his family's techniques, I wonder if he can bounce back from such an embarrassing fact being told in front of the entire village. Next chapter will be the conclusion of the academy arc, so stay tuned... until next time my friends.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

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A\N: (Rakuhouha: Falling Feng Crush). (Death Captain: one of the 8 captains who lead the squads of the Executioner Forces)

"The next match will be Rank 20, Yuudai vs Rank 3, Keita,"

I was shivering with glee, I knew Keita was a gifted fighter and now he was furious on top of it. He would try to kill me right here in this arena, the thought of it made the butterflies take flight within my stomach. The rage I could see swimming around in his eyes, I loved it I couldn't control the smile that began to creep onto my face. Honestly, I was confused, the way my body was responding to the waves of killing intent that was hitting it, instead of fear there was anticipation, I didn't want to run I wanted to fight, I didn't want to cry or frown I wanted to laugh and smile. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Yuudai! I hope you are prepared for death you hear me!"

I began to laugh, he couldn't kill me I wouldn't allow that hell my family wouldn't allow it. I rubbed my hands against my pants to wipe the sweat from them and settled into my stance facing Keita. The proctor looked at both of us and raised his hand.

"When both of you are ready you may begin!"

Keita exploded towards me, I reflexly went for a palm strike. In that split second, I heard an explosion to my right and got socked in the jaw from my left. I rocketed across the ring away from Keita who gave chase, I quickly regained control of my body and threw shrunken at him which he began to dodge until one popped into a clone and drove a flying knee into his face. He grabbed hold of the clone and made it explode, I rushed through the smoke only to get a fist to the gut.

"Nice try, but I see through your little tricks," he said before sending me flying back in the direction I came from. I landed on my feet not too far away but enough where he wasn't within striking distance. "Is this all you got?! Just a bunch of parlor tricks and deception techniques, fight me like a man Yuudai!"

"I'll fight how I please," I said not falling for his taunt. That was exactly what he wanted for me to fight him head on, he would win the fight that way if I tried to beat him with force instead of picking my spots and attacking through his blind spots. Remember your training I quickly formed the seals for Twin Phantasm. My shadow began to form in front of me.

"Not that old trick again, I told you I see through all these smoke and mirrors you put up if you want to keep fighting like a coward fine," Keita said before charging me. My shadow bolted in his direction and I ran off to the side but Keita came right for me ignoring my shadow, my body froze for a split second before I prepared a Replacement Jutsu, but Keita floored me in the mouth and continued the attack following up with knees and kicks before I could finish. My shadow appeared to his right but he completely ignored it. I broke the chain of attacks and hip tossed him but instead of slamming him to the ground I just threw him as hard as I could to get him away from me. Keita stopped his momentum by setting off an explosion with his hands facing his direction travel and landed on his feet.

"You see now, that cheap little shadow trick you use won't work on me either, I'm surprised no one else noticed it up to this point, but hey that's what happens when you don't have insider information,"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Keita began to laugh "Come on you did you really think Jin kept it a secret about you and your family, he told us everything, how your family are Genjutsu masters and the majority of your attacks use Genjutsu," I clenched my fist, so Jin sold me out again?! That bastard. "So the only thing I have to do is guard my mind against all of your silly illusions and this fight is as good as over,"

Okay stay calm so his figured out one of my jutsus secrets, and maybe Jin told him about my family and our way of fighting. Settling back into my ready stance I took in a deep breath, I felt a bit of pain near my lungs it was a dull aching kind of pain. I pushed that to the back of my mind.

"Don't think you've won just yet Keita, I'm still breathing over here. For someone who talked about killing you have not done much to bring me closer to death, in fact, I feel even more alive than before," I said with a smile. Keita's face dropped the smug look of confidence and was replaced rather quickly with one that was a mixture of anger and rage. Once again he charged and again I waited for his first attack. He tried the same tactic as before using his Kekkei Genkai as a way to maneuver faster than I could counter but I rendered that strategy obsolete against me. I parried the attack he threw at me and countered with my own, this went on for a while neither one of us giving an inch to the other. If one landed an attack the other was soon to land one as well, this became a chess match. Keita was actually tiring me out, my breathing had become labored. It was hardeven with the assistance of chakra to move as fast as I wanted to. My arms were starting to feel like wet noodles, and making it difficult to defend myself.

We traded blows once more and I backed off to take a breath. Unfortunately, I would get no such reprieve as Keita appeared on my flank, just as I was about to evade a clone had appeared opposite to his real body with both of their hands extended.

"Explosion Release: Blast Chamber!"

I couldn't avoid his attack in time and took the full brunt of it. The explosion robbed me of my hearing, my skin began to burn like I was thrown into a fire. The pain was indescribable to the point it overwhelmed me, I blacked out.

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6…..7…..

I could faintly hear the count, the ringing in my ears just wouldn't let up. My head pounded with pain like someone was trying to split my skull open. I could barely feel my limbs it felt like nothing would respond to my brain's commands.

8…. Get up, my legs listened and began to move slowly, the proctor stopped his count. 'Get up' I told myself as my hands began to grip the rubble beneath me, not yet I'm not done yet. The ringing continued and it felt like my head was about to explode at any moment, but I pushed myself to my knees. My eyes had been closed up to this point and once I opened them my vision was double no triple what it should have been. Dizziness assaulted my body causing me to hurl the contents of my stomach below me, despite this I got to one knee still trying to get my bearings.

"Impossible," I heard Keita faintly say as I worked my way to my feet. The crowd was just as stunned I could tell by the silence, I was shaking violently as I stood, my clothes were in tatters ripped and charred in different places but I was still decent. I tried to take a step back and almost lost my balance, my vision was still bouncing between two and one Keita standing in front of me.

"Are you able to continue to fight?" the proctor asked. I hesitated, was I? I could barely stand, see and feel my body, just how much more could I take? I could stop here no one would look down on me for this performance I've put on this far. I was tired and severely hurt.

'Just quit, this is your limit,' I told myself. I began to raise my hand ever so slowly. This was it I was done.

"YUUDAI!"

My hand froze in mid-air, It was Akako's voice that rose above the silence.

"You better not dare give up. I didn't acknowledge a quitter! You still have more to give I know you do!" she yelled. The crowd began to clammer amongst themselves.

"She's crazy,"

"What else does he have, look at him he's a mess,"

I agreed it was hard not to agree, I was gassed both physically and mentally. I just wanted the pain to go away.

"DON'T YOU LISTEN TO THEM OR YOURSELF!" she cried out to me. "You still have more I know you do. LISTEN TO ME! You; AKAMU YUUDAI STILL HAVE MORE TO GIVE SO GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT!"

I dropped my hand. The pain was still bothering me my vision was still messed up. I could barely hear anything, but deep down that flame was reignited. I felt a rush of adrenaline. Despite what my body was feeling, despite what my mind was telling me my spirit refused to bend a knee to it all. I forced my hands together and began to form the twenty hand seals for my strongest jutsu. I ended it with the rat seal.

"Akamu Secret Art,"

Keita charged me.

"Like hell, I'll let you use that!" he yelled in his mad dash to finish me off. I pulled all the chakra that I had left and concentrated it into my right hand, and I waited for Keita to get within the range I wanted him close so he couldn't escape the attack that was coming. Keita closed the distance and got within range. I took my fist that was packed with chakra and slammed it straight down to the Earth.

"Rakuhouha!*"

I released the chakra and waves of energy blasted outwards. I didn't see what happened in that second, hell I couldn't even feel it. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. There was this peace and calm around me while there was chaos everywhere else. I slowly picked my head up, my vision still hadn't returned to normal, neither had my balance but I could see Keita spalled out feet away from me. My legs shook violently as I stood to my full height and with every step was like winning a battle against my body. I nearly toppled over a few times but I finally stood over Keita's body. He wasn't dead but he was out cold, I spit to my left and returned my gaze to him.

"Winner of this match is rank 20 Yuudai,"

The crowd erupted in cheers, it made my headache worse due to all the noise that assaulted my ears at once. I couldn't even believe that this happened, I made it to the last two. I found it hard to process anything at this point I didn't know how to feel right now.

"Kid!"

My attention snapped to the proctor.

"Yes?"

"Can you keep going?"

"Yes I-"

The excruciating pain hit me like a tidal wave. I began coughing uncontrollably and I could feel blood hitting my palm. My heart was racing like I had just stopped running a marathon and with each pump of my heart, a jolt of pain followed. I could barely breathe, I was fighting for air to make it into my lungs but it seemed like my airway was so constricted nothing was making its way into my body. I started to feel cold as ice like I was dropped in a pool of ice water. I lost my balance and hit the ground with a thud. Next came the convulsions, I couldn't control anything my body was doing which sent me into a panic internally.

Was I dying? Again?

My eyes rolled up and my vision was robbed from me. The last thing I remembered was the screams and cries for a medic.

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"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The voice was unfamiliar to me it sounded distorted like someone was speaking through a microphone or water. "You still have a long way to go, however, I must say the performance you put on was quite admirable…" I couldn't see whom it was talking but I just heard them in my head. "The time for us to meet is still too soon little one, but when that day comes I hope you'll have the strength to subjugate me. Otherwise, your life will be mine,"

I slowly began to regain my consciousness, my hearing was the first thing to return to me. I could hear people talking about what and who they were my brain couldn't discern yet. Then my sense of touch came as I felt the wool cover, I moved my fingers ever so slightly just so I could feel again the fabric to ensure I wasn't just dreaming again.

"He moved!" someone said. The room fell silent I'm guessing they were waiting to see what else I'd do. I tried opening my eyes, my muscles controlling my eyelids would twitch but they strained to do the simple task.

How long have I been out?

I attempted the task again, this time I was able to see a slight band of light. I didn't stop and eventually, I could see fuzzy shapes of things and people. My vision remained blurry and my hearing was also abnormal it felt like people were talking to me through a wall. I felt someone hug my body and then my shoulder became damp. Was someone crying?

"Yuudai, my child, thank God you are alive," I barely heard the person hugging me say. I tried sensing people through their chakra but even that was like trying to make out shadows on a black canvas that was tossed in a mud puddle. I literally had nothing all my senses were out of whack, so I just laid there and fell back asleep just the simple movements and energy I used was enough to tire me out again.

The second time I regained my senses it was evening. The soft orange-red glow of the setting sun bathes the white stone in my room. My vision had returned to me a bit more focused but still, my hearing was damaged. My chakra senses had recovered a bit so I could make out who was in the room at the time even if I couldn't see them that well. I could tell there were three people in the room, my mother, Aoi, and someone who I wasn't familiar with.

"How much longer will he be in here?" Aoi asked.

My mother let out a deep breath. "I have no idea, his doctor said he has fought off the worst of it but it will still be a while before he regains full consciousness and motor functions,"

"How did this happen?"

"Well it was a number of things, but mainly that jutsu he used at the end, there is a dual effect and if one's body cannot handle the shock of a mass amount of their chakra being used in one go then this is the result," my mother explained. "That's why he needed all those chakra transfusions, his coils were damaged to the point that they couldn't produce enough chakra that his body was demanding to keep him alive, had we responded maybe a few seconds slower he'd be…"

My mother choked on her words, it must have been painful to watch, her only child almost died in front of her. I couldn't imagine the absolute despair she must have felt she has probably lived in this hospital room with me since I could have visitors. What the hell this wasn't supposed to happen, why do I have such fucked up luck, even now I get reborn and I'm already messing things up?

"What about you Aoi are you ready for selection training?" my mother asked.

"Oh? Um, I'm as ready as I can be," she said timidly.

"You'll be fine after all Akako selected you after your match with Jin, she has a good eye for talent," my mother said. "By the way Noriko, how does it feel to be free once again?"

"It's wonderful, I am thankful I get to hold my daughter close once again. I wish I could have seen her in the tournament and be there to celebrate her victory," she said.

So Aoi won the tournament huh? Well good for her she was able to get her wish whatever it may have been. She should be out enjoying herself so why is she here in this room with me?

"Um, Yuko-san do you think Yuudai can hear us?" Aoi asked.

"I'm sure he can go on talk to him,"

Aoi was silent for a moment.

"Yuudai, I want to apologize to you, for saying I don't have time for friends. I really just wanted my mother back free again, I didn't mean any harm towards you. Your aunt selected me to join one of her squads in the Executioner Forces so I'll probably be stuck in training when you wake up. I just want you to know two things, one I am your friend from this day forward and I'll never betray that bond between us, the second thing is that I believe that you are the true winner of our class tournament. You did things that were remarkable, you fought through so much pain and exhaustion just to fall at rank 3. To be honest I don't think I could beat you as I am right now but that's why I'm joining the Executioner Forces. So get better and promise me, that one day we will be in the Force together and I promise you if I ever become a Death Captain* I'll make you my vice-captain, but I need you to get better, you have to, please,"

If I could do anything right then I'd smirk, she admitted she was weaker than me and that I was her motivation to push herself beyond her limits right now so she wouldn't have to ever say that again. I tried to move but this time my body stayed motionless, and once again my consciousness was dragged back into oblivion.

Again my consciousness returned, and with it some sense of normalcy I could see clearly it was the dead of night, my senses were picking up very little until there was a slight wind and my aunt appeared through the curtains. She was dress in what I assumed to be her shinobi wear, her headband glistened with the light of the moon, her clothes were all black even the robe she wore. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew who it was I'd be petrified of the thing that just entered my room so quietly.

"Yo kiddo, see your still alive hmm," I tried to talk but nothing came out so I just stared at her. "You must hate me, don't you? I taught you something that put you in this state, I thought you could handle it I mean you had been taking everything I was throwing at you in stride, I must have misread the situation, after all, you not me or your mother or your father, you're you." Akako drew closer to my bed and gently brushed one of my bangs away from my face. "You know, you shocked a lot of people that day, did you know you were the first rank 20 to ever crack the top 5? You are special in a way I couldn't see at first, and now I just may have permanently messed you up for the rest of your life,"

I could look up at her face but I felt a drop of wetness hit my cheek. Was she crying? Why? What had she done? It was my choice to use the jutsu, this was my fault she shouldn't feel guilty about my decisions. She collapsed at the side of my bed and the sobs began to shake her body.

"I should have known better, Inever should never have gone against my sister. Now she won't even speak to me, all because I thought I understood your abilities better than she did!" her cries continued for a while, I felt bad as far as I could tell her and my mom had a very good relationship, and now my mom doesn't speak to her?

"So, you need to get better little Yuudai, not for my sake but for your mother's. She doesn't want to admit it but these last few weeks have been hard on her and your father, so please-"

Just then the door slid open.

"Akako, what are you doing here?" came my mother's voice. Akako stood up slowly almost fearfully.

"I came by to see him before I head back out into the world," she said.

"I told you to stay away from him, you've caused him enough pain,"

No Okaa-chan, you got it wrong this was all my doing, don't be upset at her.

"Is he not my nephew Onee-chan? I should be able to-"

"Just get out," my mother cut in coldly. "You are nothing to him as far as I'm concerned,"

Akako let out a sigh and made her way to the window. She gave me one last look and then was gone from sight. Just what in the hell is my mother doing? Akako could die out there and this is possibly the last conversation they could have with each other, is this what they want to be the last memory they have of each other? I need to recover and stop this madness. Fuck I wanted to win so bad now look what I've caused, I should have listened to Aoi but my pride blinded me, the grudge in my heart I held for the heirs, I allowed it to blind me from thinking rationally. I knew damn well I didn't have the chakra to pull off that jutsu…even still I used it because I wanted to win so bad.

Never again I will never allow my judgment to become that clouded because I never want to put these people my family and Aoi through this again. Once again my consciousness began to slip back into the darkness, when will this all be over?

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I began to slowly stir but this time it felt like I was waking up normally. I stretched my limbs as best I could, my bones cracked and joints cracked due to lack of movement. My eyes fluttered before fully opening and coming into vision first was my mother who had just walked in. I turned to her and blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't still in a semi-comatose state.

"Yuudai? Are you awake?" she asked. I opened my mouth to speak but my throat was so dry that I didn't even want to attempt to push words through it. I nodded to show her that yes I was awake and fully alert. She quickly rushed over to me and brought me into a tight embrace. "Oh, Yuudai, you silly boy, don't scare your mother like this," she said as she began to cry. "You missed out on so much these past two months, Aoi just passed selection and made it the medic qual course for the Executioner Forces, your Father was promoted to become one of the captains in the infantry," she released me from her hug and looked at me. "For now I'll go let the doctor know you are awake and we will get you something to eat,"

My mother stood up and made her way to the door she gave me one more longing look before leaving the room. I began to slowly look at my body, I looked weak a long call from my physique before the tournament, but I guess that's what happens when you float in and out of consciousness and haven't eaten anything for the last two months. Two months huh?

My room door slid open and a person from the medical corps came in with my mother. I was administered all the typical test one would normally receive, a cognitive test, basic motor function, reflex, the whole nine, my blood pressure was taken, and a blood sample was also taken from me to find any other lingering illnesses. From how the doctor was reacting to my abilities to complete each test he must have been pleased.

"Well, Yuko-san physically he's fine, however, his results on the state of his chakra network came back," I could tell this wasn't going to be good news. "His coils are damaged to the point that molding chakra will be rather difficult for him from this point on, he can still use ninjutsu and genjutsu, but to what extent I have no idea. This is the first time I'm seeing a case like his,"

"Will he ever progress as a shinobi?" my mother asked.

"I highly doubt it especially once people get a hold of his medical records, he'll probably remain a genin for the rest of his career, at that point, I'd say there is no reason for him to remain a shinobi,"

So my chakra network has been crippled, I'm basically this world's shinobi version of a paraplegic, but my system felt fine I mean chakra was being made in my body normally, I could still sense things like normal. I tried pushing chakra to my feet and felt no resistance, I looked to see if the adults were still paying me any attention before I began forming seals for Dark Hold. I tried activating the jutsu and a wave of pain struck me to the point I cried out.

"Yuudai! What's wrong?!" my mother asked in a panic.

"It hurts to try and use genjutsu too," I said as I gripped my chest. The doctor looked at me directly, he made eye contact.

"Maybe you need to think of other things you can be other than a shinobi, you will not be effective for the village like this, especially if you are unable to use your family's staple techniques,"

Was this it? Was I done as a shinobi before I could even begin? I gripped the cloth beneath covering my body. There was no way I was giving up, Rock Lee couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu and he still made it, sure this may have been before his time, but still, as long as I had the will to be a shinobi then I was going to put forth the effort. My eye caught my headband sitting on the desk, I earned that before many in my class did, I beat the 3rd best person in my class my story won't end here.

"No, my entire family have been shinobi. I will follow in those footsteps, no matter how hard it may be. I may not get promoted but I will not stop being a shinobi until I die," I looked the doctor in the eyes. "I will walk the shinobi path just like my mother, my aunt, my father, and those before them, I will make myself an effective shinobi if I can't grow into one, but this is all I know and if I die as a shinobi then I will die happy," I said.

"Yuudai, there are plenty of other paths you can take," my mother said. "We can find something else for you, you don't have to force yourself,"

"No, Okaa-chan, I must do this. I've chosen this path, anything else and I'll hate myself for not trying. Please let me struggle through this on my own," I pleaded

My mother was torn, she had no way of saying I could or I could not do what I wanted.

"How about this," the doctor jumped in. "We will let you fully recover and then we will see what you will do from there, how does that sound Yuudai?"

I nodded in agreement, however, I had no plans of changing my mind. I didn't know how to live as a civilian anymore, all I knew was war, shedding blood, and conflict. I couldn't become a civilian, not after the life I lived in my old life. I was a warrior and nothing would change that not even the medical staff would stop me, no diagnosis would stop me, I just can't imagine a life without a weapon in my hands. That was me, it's what made me who I am and I can't turn my back on it.

They say God grants the wishes of the warrior because it is they who live near him. Well God, if you are real, grant me just one thing: allow me to be a shinobi… let me live as a warrior one last time, then I will have no complaints no matter what hell I live through.

If only I knew then the chance I was given. A chance that would never show itself to me again for decades, a chance at peace in my life for the first time in my wretched existence.

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A\N: Whew that took some time but I finished it for you all. Let me know what you think, I hope I've been improving in my writing if not then tell me I want to make this story better for you to read. Thank you again for taking the time out to read my work and as always…. Until next time my friends.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

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My hospital stay didn't last very long after I came out of my semi-coma. There was a week of physical therapy which I felt I didn't need I was only out for two months, not two years. More tests were run on my chakra network to see if there was anything that could be done to fix what they called "pathway restriction" in other words some of my pathways and coils was pinched, the pain comes from forcing chakra through these pathways and coils when I perform jutsu. The doctors' theory on my recovery was that my body would dull the pain over time as I grew up so instead of being an 8 on the pain scale it would fall to 4 or 5. I would always feel pain when I used ninjutsu or genjutsu no matter what for the rest of my life and the stronger the jutsu the more pain it would cause. I was fine with that, my mother, however, wasn't and tired her hardest to convince me to find something else to put my passion towards.

Her pleas fell on deaf ears, unfortunately.

I was dead set on this path, and she had to get over it. I loved my mother but she was just being unreasonable at this point, even my father was fine with me still being a shinobi so long as I understood how difficult and dangerous I was making my life from this point forward. That was what filled my thoughts as my mother and I made our way home, why was I really doing this? I owe this village nothing, I owed my family nothing, I owed this world nothing. I could care less about the coming calamity that would plague the shinobi world. I just wanted to survive them, seeing the fact that I'm here the story might not happen in the same way that I remembered, plus there is no telling what other players and factors have been changed due to my actions up to this point. Even if I could affect some kind of change I'm not in a great position to do so, Iwagakure was basically missing in action after the third war until almost the fourth world war, and even with the third war still having to take place there wasn't much said about it other than the small tidbits we got from the arc that followed Kakashi's early life, and the battle that ended the war itself when the fourth Hokage killed a thousand Iwa shinobi single-handedly crippling the Iwa forces and cutting off a key supply route. Point is there was little I could do in my position on top of that why should I have to go around trying to save people from shit that would have happened to them anyway? Does that responsibility fall on me just because I have some form of advance knowledge? No, it doesn't.

I will do what I can, however, I'm not going out of my way to save individuals from fate itself, if there isn't a huge benefit later on down the road that comes from helping someone then I'll allow fate to act unimpeded. Despite my name's meaning I don't see myself as a hero and I won't strive to be, I want to be strong because that's how you get respect here in Iwa and it's also for my own sake. It's one thing to die while fighting for your life at least then you went down swinging, but to die without fighting or lacking the tools or experience to save one's own life from another's aggression well that's just pitiful in my eyes.

Once we reached our family's compound I was attacked by everyone, asking me a million questions at once, I tried my best to answer their concerns about my health as best I could without giving too much information about my condition. I was quickly asked and then dragged away by the younger members of the family asking me to help them with their training before they leave for the academy. I didn't mind much even though there was only so much I could teach them because I had very little experience myself but if I could help I would.

The next few hours were a bit painful for me, I showed them the teleportation jutsu also known as the body flicker technique. This was a very simple jutsu but the shock I was getting every time was taxing to my stamina. I was extremely long-winded and I could handle a ton of punishment but it felt like I was in the middle of a fight, my heart rate was elevated, I was breathing slightly heavier, and I felt drained. This was definitely going to be harder than I thought if just messing around and teaching a D-ranked jutsu got me like this after a few hours, then Dark Hold and Twin Phantasm would drain me even quicker and in a real fight, I would be three times as exhausted. I could forget about Rakuhouha, that jutsu put me in this state so there's no telling when or if my body will ever allow me to use that jutsu again. I would have to change my entire fighting style up, for now, I had to prioritize efficiency, quickness, and precision. I couldn't waste time dragging a fight out for now until my condition improved if it did at all.

Once the sun began to set I bid the kids farewell and returned to my house located in the far right corner of our compound, sitting high over the entire compound carved right into the mountain face. I slid the metal door open.

"Tadaima," I called.

"Okaeri," my mother responded.

I heard the steady slice and knocking sound that comes from a knife on a cutting board, I took my sandals off and made my way into the kitchen where my mother was preparing dinner.

"Can I help Okaa-chan?" I asked.

"Sure, could you wash the remaining vegetables for me?"

I walked right over to the sink and began my task, slow and carefully I washed the bean sprouts, then the seaweed which was rare to have here in Iwa. I then grabbed a bowl and filled it with water and placed the shiitake in so they could soak and become soft and ready to use.

"Anything else Okaa-chan?"

"No, thank you Yuudai, now go rest dinner will be ready in a minute. Your father should be home soon as well," my mother said with a smile. I exited the kitchen and walked slowly back to my room, I was tired to the point that I just wanted to sleep. I entered my room which I haven't seen in two years. Nothing changed my bed was still a mess due to me not making it that morning, and my mother wasn't the type to clean up after me once I got old enough to know right from wrong so I wasn't surprised. I looked at my desk and was quickly caught off guard by something that I knew wasn't there when I left. A shamisen and a katana sat still on my desk with a piece of folded paper sitting on top. I walked over and picked up the paper and unfolded it and I was greeted by sloppy kanji.

'Hey punk, I haven't forgotten my promise to you I'll teach you how to play my favorite instrument one day. It's just right now I have a lot of work that I have to knock out thanks to the year I took off to train you. This shamisen belonged to my father; your grandfather. It was the one I learned to play on and now I'm passing it down to you so take good care of it. The katana also has history behind it, it belonged to my mother she was the best swordswoman in Iwa in my honest opinion. Anyways I'm giving you that katana along with the rest of the sword techniques that my mother created I expect you to have them mastered by the time I get back… which will be a while but still never know when I'll pop back up so NO SLACKING. I wish I could have given these to you in person but life just isn't fair. I gotta go tell my sister I still love her and I'm sorry…. Very sorry.'

~Akako

I looked down again and saw the scroll that I overlooked tucked under the hilt of the katana. I placed down the note and picked up the scroll and began to unroll it, the parchment flowed all the way to the floor and in it was a long list of techniques and illustrations. The first one listed was Shippuuga, so this is where my aunt was teaching me from. The illustrations were very telling based on the stances and kata flow it was exactly the same style she was teaching me at the temple. So this style was originated by my grandmother, the amount of time and dedication this had to have taken. I was in awe as I continued to read through the scroll the level of detail put into the illustrations and the text explaining each technique and how to practice them and their situational use, I may not have met my grandmother but this right here this scroll has given me a bit of insight into what kind of person she might have been.

I rolled the scroll back up and tied the small rope on it to keep it from unraveling and placed it back on my desk. My attention was then focused on the katana the sat quietly on the desk. It was like any other katana that I've seen up to this point, in fact, it looked just like the sword that you could get from the central supply and equipment issuing facility. I picked up the katana and noted the weight difference from my bokken, it was heavier, and it just had a different feel. It was like picking up a real rifle for the first time after playing with bb guns before. This wasn't a training tool it was a killing one and as I began to release the blade from the safety of the sheath I remained cautious, I mean this was my first time handling an actual katana in either of my lives so you damn right I'm a bit nervous. Once the blade was fully exposed I inspected it and for how old this sword was it was in excellent condition telling me that its previous owner was meticulous with its care and maintenance, there was not one sign of reforging or misuse. As I gazed at the blade with the setting sun in the background it for a fleeting moment I felt a chill run through my hand and it flowed through my entire body. I returned the blade to its protective home and just shook my head.

Welcome to the big leagues Yuudai.

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Dinner was delicious honestly it was the best meal I had in the last two years. It was a quiet night my mother was busy now at the dining table doing paperwork for what I assumed to be work, while I and my father played Go in the living room. I studied the board looking for a good move, I was still a beginner at this game it reminded me of checkers chess mash up, instead of jumping over the "stones" as there were called you had to surround and capture them and it required much more thought than that game. My father held the most territory at this point in the game and I was losing ground at an alarming rate. I took a black stone and placed it far away from where our heated battle was taking place.

"Oh, interesting move," my father spoke softly.

Akamu Takeo, formally known as Nishinoya Takeo was my father. He wasn't a man who was loud and boastful, but he had a commanding presence due to his stature. My father was easily 6'5" maybe taller, he wore his dark brown hair short, however, he had really long bangs in front. He had broad shoulders, a wide chest, long arms, and was wrapped in muscles. He sported a scruffy beard and had sharp canines which would show when he smiled or smirked, his brown eyes would brighten or darken depending on the mood he was in. To sum it up simply he looked like a human wolf, and I could only assume he was just as dangerous as his appearance hinted but right now his eyes were locked on the board looking for the best move to keep me from turning the tides on him. He quietly placed a stone near mines and I moved to counter, we went back and forth for a bit each trying to outsmart the other. The air was thick with thoughts of strategy and speculation of possible moves only the occasional sound of a stone being placed on the board interrupted the dead silence that engulfed the room.

"Game set," my father said after laying down his stone. I scanned the board for any possible moves I could make without committing a foul move, there wasn't one and I groaned in frustration. My father chuckled at the noise. "You got a long way to go, my son, no need to be upset. You did much better this game," he said as he tried to boost my confidence.

"Still sucks to lose after putting all the effort into it," I said still staring at the board trying to find my mistakes.

"Then put the same effort into fixing your screw ups so you can win next time, however, I've been playing Go since I was your age so I don't know if you'll beat me anytime soon," he said with a grin. "Might have a better shot a beating your mother, she's a terrible player," I didn't even have to turn around to know my mom was glaring at him, but it seemed to not have any effect on my father whose smile didn't fade a bit.

"Oyaji I don't think that's a good idea," I said trying to warn the man from poking the sleeping bear anymore.

"What you mean? Your mother isn't going to do anything to me," he said with absolute confidence and within that same second pebble shot past my cheek just barely missing my skin and my father hitting the wall behind him. "Hmmm, I guess your mother is not in a very playful mood this evening," my father stood up to his full height and made his way to my mother who had refocused herself back to her work.

My father slowly approached her, he was being a bit cautious but still moved with confidence, before I knew it my father had snagged my mom up and she was struggling against his grip. She almost looked like a cat trying to break free from its master's arms.

"Put me down this instant Takeo!" My mother exclaimed.

"Not a chance my little pet," my father said with a laugh. "You've been working yourself to death, it's about time you take a nice long break, Yuudai take care of the dishes and put the Go board and pieces away, and please prepare my breakfast for the morning. Your mother and I are going to go relax for the night,"

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Aye aye captain," I said. They disappeared around the corner to their room. I could only assume what would take place behind that door and just was thankful that my room was upstairs. I set out to do the chores I was given. I cleaned off the Go board and placed it in its corner, once that was done I moved into the kitchen and began washing the dishes.

As I worked I picked up a signature just on the edges of my senses. I didn't pay too much attention to it until I began cooking and it didn't go away. I finished my father's breakfast for the morning and made my way outside. I hopped on the roof and sat down in the direction I felt the signature first. I didn't completely focus on it, instead, I kept it in the back of my mind and continued to scan the area.

"Boo,"

I reflexively jumped away from the voice in a fighting stance. I studied the figure in front of me. They were dressed as a member of the executioner forces all black, black and red mask this person number happened to be 74. I stayed on guard.

"What can I do for you?" I asked. The figure began to chuckle.

"So you've forgotten about me already? Jeez, it's only been two and a half months, I'm hurt,"

"Sorry, don't have very many people who I'm friendly with," I snapped back "now are you going to tell me who you are and why you are trespassing in my family's compound? Or am I going to have to beat it outta you?"

"Ohhh, scary but-" the figure removed their mask. "I doubt you can beat anything out of me now Yuudai,"

"Aoi?!" I relaxed my body just a bit. "What are you doing here?"

She took a seat on the roof and looked at me with a smile.

"I came to see how your doing, I can't do that?"

"What about your training?" I asked.

"Almost done got another week or so, the hard part is over so I have more free time, although it's usually around this time that I get that free time," she said. Aoi patted the space next to her beckoning me to sit next to her. I sat down and looked up at the stars, I looked out the corner of my eye to see she was doing the same

"So how is it? The executioner forces?" I asked trying to lift the air of silence.

"Ugh, where do I begin? It's overwhelming, the academy doesn't really prepare us well enough, I spent the first few days just trying to keep up both physically and mentally,"

Well, it didn't take a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion. After all the academy was nothing more than a mass production institution, designed to equip young shinobi with the bare basics and get them on active duty status as quickly as possible. Aoi may have been an exception within the system and thus was recognized because of it.

"Oh, what was so rigorous about it?" I asked.

"Ever had to manage a mass-cal* that was 25 plus? Or try to reattach a severed limb while on the move and having kunai and shuriken thrown at you?"

"Let me guess, sleep deprived?"

"Yep" she popped the "p" at the end

"No food?"

"Some, just enough so your body doesn't crash due to exhaustion,"

"Sounds like you've become a better medic though," I said genuinely impressed with her accomplishment thus far. She just beamed with pride. "Hey Aoi, do you mind if I ask a personal question?"

"Sure, hit me," she said without hesitation.

"What did you wish for? I mean after the tournament," Aoi smile faded and her focus returned to the stars, she remained that way for a while. "You don't have to tell me if it's-"

"No, I was just wondering how much I trust you right now to keep this to yourself," she said. "But friendship is about trust is it not?" She asked.

"Debatable," I quipped. Aoi began to laugh.

"Got an argument for everything huh?" I just shrugged, Aoi took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was quiet for a few more seconds. "I wished for my mother's prison sentence to be pardoned,"

I just remained quiet, that was quite the wish no wonder she was extremely focused.

"If you don't mind me asking why was she imprisoned?"

Aoi looked me straight in the eyes and spoke without blinking.

"You have to promise me your life that you will not ever repeat the story I'm going to tell you,"

"I swear if I do you can kill me in the most gruesome way you see fit," I said. She continued to study my eyes probably trying to find a trace of dishonesty in them. Once she was satisfied with peering into my soul she sat back.

"My mother was imprisoned for loving the wrong person, you see my mother was considered one of the best medics the Suki clan had seen in some time. Majority of the medical advances Iwa has experienced was thanks to her. So not too long ago lady Mikoto was due to be born and my mother was selected to do the delivery due to her abilities. As the due date came closer Mikoto's mother fell ill, thus endangering the pregnancy, it was an illness no one had encountered before not even my mother had knowledge of it,"

That didn't surprise me in the slightest, even with my old world's level of medical technology and research there was still diseases that were uncured. Aoi brought her knees close to her chest. "So, it came down to save one life or lose both. My mother induced Mikoto's mother into labor and successfully delivered her, a few days later Mikoto's mother died from the illness, but she had one last dying wish and that was to help raise Mikoto into a worthy heir for the Suki. My mother agreed,"

"Wait, so if that was her dying wish and she was willing to fulfill it then why-"

Aoi put a finger to my lips to silence my questions.

"I'm getting there mister impatient, now where was I? Oh yes, so in order to do what was asked of her she moved into the main house's compound and cared for Mikoto like she was her own daughter. It was at this time the current head of the Suki clan; Suki Yami-sama began to take an interest in my mother, at first she resisted his advances… but he became more passionate with each advance,"

"Passionate how passionate are we talking?" I asked.

"Flowers delivered to her office in the hospital, dinners, maids put directly under her, her own personal house within the compound, need I go on?" I shook my head no, I got the picture. He was in full courtship mode. "Finally my mother caved and gave in, and things were great at first, my mother was happy and Yami-sama made sure my mother wanted for nothing, but my mother refused to become physically intimate with him unless they got married. Yami-sama knew the elders wouldn't bless off on the marriage between them, so they got married in secret and on their wedding night my mother became pregnant with me,"

"Wait, so if I'm following this right that would make you and Mikoto…"

Aoi nodded.

"That makes us half-sisters,"

"So why was she imprisoned?"

"Long story short after I was born, people began to wonder who the father was, eventually it was found out that my mother and father married in secret," Aoi clinched her legs tighter and her voice cracked a bit as she spoke. "The elders said that my mother seduced the head of the clan so she could elevate herself to a higher status, she was arrested and thrown in jail when I was an infant, worst part of all my father did nothing to stop it,"

A singular tear rolled down her cheek. Her emotions were slamming into my senses, I could feel the pain deep in my soul, Aoi had already been through a lot in her young life, plus her family was a fractured one. She may crave her father's approval to tell her how proud he is of her but deep down she knew that it would never happen. That in itself is more tortuous than anything in this world, to be a child of someone who would never acknowledge your very existence, she didn't ask to be born, she was the innocent bystander who got shot in a drive-by. What was even more alarming was if what she's saying is true then it means that it matters not what you do for the village or how strong you are, step out of line and you are done. They don't care who you are if you ain't from the main line then you are disposable.

I was pretty terrible when it came to consoling people but I did try by rubbing her back. Aoi just silently cried.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. Aoi kept her head in her chest. "I mean there's nothing I can do to help you with that pain that you carry, but I can give you my time, so if you ever need to talk come and find me I'll be all ears unless it's about some dumb girly stuff then your on your own,"

Her shoulders shook with a light chuckle.

"Gee, thanks a lot you're the best friend a girl could ask for," She said with an eye roll. "Anyways, enough about me what are you going to do?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your condition you know with your chakra,"

It was a question that I still didn't have a solid answer to. What was I going to do?

"I'll figure something out," I said. Aoi just shook her head at my answer and stood up, she brushed the dirt off her clothes.

"Better hurry I won't keep my vice-captain spot open forever," she said smugly.

"Tch, I never agreed to even join the force, don't go choosing my future for me," I snapped. She seemed a bit put off by my tone but then that smug smile crept back onto her face.

"Yeah ok, just wait when you outgrow the conventional forces, you'll bring yourself to selection on your own, if not I'll just pick you to be my vice-captain and force you to go,"

"Again woman, don't go doing things on your own without my consent, I probably won't even be good enough to make jonin at this point," I said. "I can't use ninjutsu or gen-"

"Blah, blah, blah all I hear is excuses," she said as she walked towards the ledge. "Don't keep me waiting long Yuudai, see ya,"

With that she vanished like she wasn't even there, to begin with, and I was left there frustrated, why did I involve myself with her again?

"Even in this life, girls are still annoying," I said to myself with a bit of mirth in my voice, I stood up and stretched my limbs before I made my way back inside, I had a busy day tomorrow.

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A/N: So, the reason why this chapter took so long was that I was in a motorcycle accident last month. The driver was texting and driving and merge right into me throwing me off my bike and no I wasn't riding in their blind spot. Thank God I had my GoPro on my helmet so that person's insurance will be buying me a new bike and helmet of my choosing, moral of the story don't text and fucking drive or drive distracted period you will get someone or yourself killed. Anyways hope you all enjoy the chapter, I should be able to get back to a normal uploading schedule after this. Reviews are welcomed and appreciated and as always… until next time my friends.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12

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I finally rolled out of bed late in the morning, I wasn't too excited for what today's events would entail. It was my first day as a ninja officially and I had to report to HQ for processing, today was going to be filled with paperwork and headaches. I absolutely loathe admin work and really paperwork in general, yes I understood the importance behind it which was the keeping of records but still the fact that the human race has complicated that simple task was to me, an assault on my own human rights. I strolled through the empty house towards the kitchen to make my breakfast.

Another thing that irritated me was the fact that eggs were really expensive here in Earth country so my mother made the eating of them in the morning completely off limits, so I searched for the half of a mackerel I saved from last night's prep and began to heat the stove. I prepared breakfast and ate in relative silence, still mulling over what I would encounter at HQ. once that was done I washed up, got dressed, and tied my headband in its proper place and set out for the day. I walked through the village at a slow pace not really in a hurry to get to my destination and wishing for something, hell anything, to postpone my journey so I could have an excuse to put off what I knew needed to be done. Of course, nothing happened but a few stares and small comments about the kid who collapsed during the tournament. This was really my first time in public since being discharged so this was just par for the course. People are nosey, well some people are but when a major event happens to someone people are curious as to their state of well-being.

I slowly entered the Tsuchikage's tower where all the branches' HQ was located. The tower itself was the only structure that was built from brick and it was a deeper earth color than all the other buildings around it which made it stand out a bit. The tower was packed with shinobi, each dressed almost the exact same uniform, some had two long baggy sleeves, others had one or none. They all were busy with something either moving in a hurry with paperwork in hand or linking up with people to discuss matters that were unknown to me. This reminded me of the busy subway station I would use back home, there were a lot of things about this world that reminded me of home and it made me a little homesick, just a little. I began to look for a directory, and much to my dismay there was none. I'd forgotten this is a shinobi village why in the hell would they point out where things are? You're supposed to know where you're going if not get directions or find it yourself. With that I made my way to the first flight of stairs I saw tucked off in the corner of the tower and began my search for Scout HQ.

The first floor belonged to the infantry so I skipped it and continued climbing the stairwell. Next was the engineer's, and then finally was the scouts. I figured the medic's HQ was located somewhere in the hospital seeing that they didn't have a place here, the scouts' floor looked just like the rest, tables dotted the room where people sat and held conversations there were three windows two faced the doors and one off to the right. Each had a sign the hung above them indicating what their uses were for. I began to weave my way through the tables and felt the stares of the others who were in the room. Sure their conversations continued, however, their eyes were fixed on my back. I reached the window that had 'reception' hanging above it and came face to face with a young man who looked like he was bored out of his mind. He was currently staring up at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Yeah, what can I do for ya?" he said in a dead voice refusing to tear his attention away from the ceiling.

"I'm here to in-process," I responded in an equally dead tone. Once he heard this his head snapped over towards the stack of papers that sat of to his right. He grabbed a couple of them and went over them quickly before slapping them on the counter in front of me. He then grabbed a pen and placed it next to them.

"Fill them out and bring them back," he said. I took the paperwork and utensil and found an empty table and began filling out the papers. Again I could feel the stares and every once in a while I'd look out of the corner of my eyes to confirm that yes indeed they were looking at me. I ignored them, as best I could. I pushed on with the little bit of focus I still had on the papers in front of me, I just wanted to finish this quickly and get out of here I hated being the center of people's attention when it wasn't called for. I raced through the packet and took it back to the reception window. The boy flipped through it and threw it on top of a stack paperwork to his left.

"I take it you haven't been to the issuing center, have ya?"

"No, I haven't," I said.

"Alright, well it's on the east side of the village right before all the training grounds are at, got it?" I nodded and started making my way towards the door. "Hey, kid!" I turned to see the receptionist still looking at me. "Welcome to the team,"

"Glad to be a part of it," I said before leaving.

The equipment issuing facility or EIF as it was normally called was nothing more than a warehouse that stored and handed out all shinobi equipment for the conventional forces. It was here that uniforms, gear, armor, and weapons were issued out to new shinobi or to ones who either lost or broke their stuff and needed new items. The facility was organized by categories and then separated by sub-categories. I assume this was to keep certain things separated from others. The lines weren't as long as I was anticipating, in fact, the longest one was for clothing, which didn't shock me after all this was the only place you could get an Iwa shinobi uniform. Only the hidden leaf and sand didn't really adhere to a set uniform for shinobi work, everywhere else did at least that was my observation from the show. Moving through the uniform line I was tossed three pairs of tops and pants, I then moved on to receive my flack vest as well as a sustainment pouch and holster. I was told that kunai and shuriken would be given to me at my HQ as well as any special weapons or equipment. Lastly, I was given a mission pack to put all my stuff in.

I sat down and began to inspect all of the things I was given and I wasn't impressed with the quality of the material. The other thing that struck me was just how worn the clothes were, there were sewn spots where tears had occurred or alterations had been done to fit the previous person. There was no guarantee that what I was given would even fit properly, the flak vest was also in a sorry state. It had a few tears and upon closer inspection, I saw faded blood splatter and spots on it. That told me that this vest had seen some action, and either it's the previous owner was a capable shinobi… or a dead one. Really I wasn't surprised by the state of my gear and clothes. This is exactly how a large military force is run, there are a lot of priorities that need to be considered and gear at least for the conventional forces is always low on the list. If you want good gear and clothing you had to go and spend your own money. I let out a breath of frustration as I finished packing.

"It's like I'm joining the army all over again," I said to myself.

I took my new ninja gear home and placed it in my room. It was mid-afternoon so I had a lot more time to kill before the day was over so I decided some well-deserved training was in order. I hadn't done much of anything due to my stay in the hospital and I much rather shake off the rust in the training grounds than on mission, the last thing I wanted was to get myself or someone else killed because of my own negligence. The other reason was I wanted to test my chakra system limitations, I could still use jutsu but I need to know what was within my limits and how bad it would hurt. By knowing this I could better tailor my fighting style around these new limitations and effectively negate them as much as possible so that they don't interfere with my work or decision making. Who knows maybe I could start building up a bit of tolerance to the pain now.

The Tsu's training grounds were located atop a small mountain that loomed over the whole compound. The trip up there wasn't a pleasant hike either, the path was jaded with sharp rocks and it was narrow. The only thing that made me confident enough to even walk this was the fact that I knew if I slipped I would be able to recover and save myself from falling to my death. The entrance to the actual grounds was marked by two pillars with the clan's insignia sitting atop, which happened to be a circle with a vertical line running through it. As I entered a gust picked up from an impact that was further out in the grounds. It was hard to see due to the clouds blocking my line of sight but the gust would continue every so often. I started to make my way to the source. As I did my clothes became damp due to the clouds. The light was beginning to dim like a lampshade was thrown over the sun. I drew closer and the impacts became louder and the gust force increased significantly. Finally, I could see a silhouette through the clouds and by its profile determined who it was.

"Jin-sama," I called out. The figure stopped mid kick, I assumed they believed that they were alone this whole time.

"Yuudai?" he questioned.

"Hai,"

"What are you doing here?"

"To train obviously," I said. Jin wasn't to amused by my smart remark but for whatever reason, he decided to let it go without resistance. His clothes were drenched in sweat, his appearance was disheveled. "How long have you been up here?" I asked. He quickly turned his back to me.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, it was a simple question," I shot back immediately. Jin lunged at me and I backed away just out of his reach. I quickly pulled my katana close to my hip and rested my hand on the hilt, ready to be drawn at a moments notice. "Now you're attacking me when I haven't done anything to you,"

"Shut up, you have been disrespecting me with your tone, and responses to my questions,"

"And? What of it? You seem really hung up on this respect thing when you haven't even earned it, what have you done to earn my respect?" I said. My adrenaline began to pump through my veins, my hands turned clammy, but my soul was looking forward to the prospect of fighting Jin, in this environment, no one was here to stop us.

Come on, please make my day.

Jin studied me for a second, our eyes met on multiple occasions. He stood upright and backed away from me.

"I'm not going to play into your hands, You are a provocateur Yuudai. If I were to tangle with you I'd only be allowing myself to be used for your own enjoyment,"

Ugh, he just had to ruin my fun. Damn killjoy.

"Whatever, you just don't want to fight because you're scared to lose again,"

"What you say?!" He said in an elevated voice laced with irritation. "You've got a lot of nerve, given your situation,"

"Just admit it Jin, Aoi beat you, how she did it I don't know but I can tell she did a number on you seeing that your here right now."

"I'm here because any shinobi would do the same in their free time,"

"So the excuses continue, you never once stepped foot in the training grounds at the academy. You were never seen in the library studying. You got by with talent, but then Aoi knocked you off your high horse," I could feel the tension building between us. I knew this was a sore spot for him so I'm attacking it, I was gunning for that same embarrassment he let me have a taste of two years ago. Even if we didn't fight I wanted to bruise his ego a bit. He needed to learn a lesson; no one not even people who are below you on the social ladder owe you a damn thing. "Now look at you, training blindly, you have no idea what it is your doing up here you're just hoping it yields some results,"

"Who do you think you are, huh?! You think you're better than me?!" he shouted. I got out of my stance and stood tall unwavered by his increase in volume and aggressive tone.

"I know I'm better than you, if you think I'm wrong then prove it right here, right now," I said. I again readied myself hand looming over the hilt of my blade. I could see the emotional shifts that took place on Jin's face, first was anger, then mild irritation, and finally hesitation. Once I saw that look of hesitation I began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?!" he demanded.

"You, that's what. Seems Aoi not only defeated you physically but mentally as well," I straightened up and made my way back where I came from. "Better fix yourself, otherwise your not going to live long enough to take over the clan," I called over my shoulder.

"Can't you see that's what I'm trying to do?! I just… don't know how," I stopped moving away from him and began to listen, maybe he's realized his shortcomings on his own being out here. I heard a sniffle and then a choke for air. I looked over my shoulder to see tears streaming down his face. "I don't know how to change, I was told I didn't have to, that everything I did was right, but she… she told me otherwise,"

"So what's your point? I don't care what you want to do, you may want to change but are you willing to do what you need to do to bring that change about?" I asked. "Don't answer that question half-heartedly, you should dwell on it, and then once you have your answer, do something to bring it about if that's what you choose to do, tears will not solve your problem and neither will training yourself aimlessly for days. Use your head and come up with a solution and a plan then execute, don't put the cart before the horse,"

I continued to walk towards the exit.

"Yuudai,"

"Hai, Jin-sama,"

"If I said I wanted to change myself, would you help me,"

I stopped and pondered that question for a bit. I still didn't like Jin but as of right now our clan's future belongs to him.

"Only if there is truth behind your actions, I've learned not to trust that forked tongue of yours,"

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Day turned to dusk as I continued my evaluation of my limits. I made the hand signs for Twin Phantasm and immediately felt a jolt of pain. I felt like fire was shooting through my entire body, I still executed the jutsu and my shadow detached from my body. I was still feeling pain but now it was a dull ache like a pulse within my body other than my heartbeat. I began to spar with my shadow making sure I was giving 100% effort and was moving at combat speeds, I used the teleportation jutsu in situations that called for it. I was pushing chakra throughout my body and using various offensive and defensive jutsus. After about twenty minutes I felt like I was going to pass out. I stopped immediately and sat down, my time limit in a fight would be twenty minutes give or take a minute or so depending on other factors like rest, hydration etc. That wasn't much time in terms of a fight, however, it was good news because at least for that time I could use my body to its full potential. I stared up at the orange-blue sky painting, I was REALLY tired and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I dragged myself to my feet slowly so I didn't pass out from standing up to fast.

I stretched and then stuffed my hands in my pockets as I strolled slowly out of the village training grounds. I could still feel the pain from my chakra network but it was more of an annoyance, I would have to learn to live with this now. Strangely I was optimistic about my new situation because my body and chakra network was still growing and developing, I wouldn't feel like this forever sure the pain would still be there but I will be better able to manage it and fight longer. Which I was going to need to be able to do soon, however right now I needed to rely on my head and not my physical talents too much. I may not be as smart as a Nara but I'm no dummy when it comes to combat strategies and battlefield awareness. Just as I was about to get into training my sword skills a messenger bird came swooping in and drop a scroll right in front of my feet and hooked left away from me.

"Heh, great delivery," I said as I picked up the scroll and began to read its contents. "A mission briefing huh? Man, these guys don't waste time," I said as I rolled the scroll back up. I made a run for Tsuchikage's tower were the actual mission briefing would take place. I entered the tower and located the briefing room that was on the first floor. I slid open the double metal doors and was greeted by a few unfamiliar faces.

"Well, about time you got here," a gruff old man said. I looked around the room and saw no one that I recognized. I shut the doors behind me and walked deeper into the room.

"Uh, sorry I'm late?" I said slowly.

"Oh god, this is our scout?" said the female shinobi. "Commander, can we get a different one?"

I shot her a glare, fuck already trying to replace me? I didn't even do anything wrong.

"Don't look now but I think you pissed him off, he's glaring daggers at you," came the other male shinobi who had a lit cigarette in his mouth. She quickly turned to me and shot me a death glare.

"Got something you want to say kid?" she snarled.

"Yeah, you're a bitch," I snapped. Before I could even react there was a kunai pointed at my throat.

"You got some mouth on ya, I know your mother raised you better than that," came her voice from behind me. She was fast so fast I didn't even notice she moved, I tried to keep my composure. "Now I think you owe me an apology,"

"I owe you nothing, you insulted me first," I said. The point got closer to my throat.

"Alright, enough out of both of you," came a deep rugged voice. "Sorry Junko, Yuudai was the one his captain selected for this mission so unless you want to tangle with Hanna-taicho, which would probably not end well for you I'd suggest you suck it up for now,"

"Tch, your so lucky kid, don't let your guard down around me again," she said as she backed away from me.

"I don't intend to seeing that your out to kill me too,"

We all lined up in front of the commander of the Iwa shinobi forces; head captain Taisen. From the looks of it, I'd say he was a middle-aged man with the silver fox look going on. He was definitely an old timer just by the look in his eyes I could tell he'd seen and done some terrible things in his time as a shinobi. He flipped through some paperwork and the dropped a file with a picture attached. We all gathered a bit closer to see who it was. The man in the picture wore a hidden Haze headband, had a cut scar on his left cheek that traveled towards his ear. His eyes were a dark brown and his hair was a sandy brown color.

"That is Hikigaya Ruji, he's been giving us some trouble on the border recently. He's led three successful raids on our outpost and has killed a lot of brothers and sisters," he then turned and looked directly at me. "I not too confident in the rookie's tracking abilities, however your captain has put her faith in you, maybe because you have potential, maybe it's because you're family, whatever the reason I'm tasking all of you: Junko, Eiji, Ayumi, Yuudai, and Manabu, you are to deploy to border outpost 21 and hunt down Hikigaya Ruji. Use whatever methods you see fit to kill him, you all are to leave in the morning, do I make myself clear?"

"Hai, head captain," we all responded.

"This will be ranked as a C ranked mission, I hope to see you all return safely," he said as he stood up. "You're dismissed, except for you Yuudai I have something I wish to discuss with you further,"

I turned back towards the head captain as everyone else left. Once the doors shut he looked at me again.

"Relax son, you're tense," I didn't realize how ridged my stance was and I tried to loosen my stance. "There ya go, I do this with all the rookies before they go out on their first mission, it's kinda a pep talk and a warning. Tell me what do you think kills rookie shinobi the most when out on their first mission?"

"Stupidity," I answered. Taisen chuckled at that.

"Well, you're not wrong however you missed the deeper meaning behind the question, what kills rookie shinobi the most is themselves,"

"How so?" I asked.

"Because they always look for the book answer in a world that changes constantly, they think that if they don't take risks that they will survive, they believe that if they avoid the responsibilities that come with decision making on the battlefield that they can't be held accountable for the outcome. Listen Yuudai you are a member of that cell and you are the scout, you need to be willing to take risks and accept responsibility by making tough choices, don't fall into the thinking trap of 'I'm the rookie' no your a shinobi, everyone was a rookie at one point, even Junko as ill-mannered as she is now, was a scared little rookie infantry shinobi eight years ago. So don't be afraid to let your presence be known within the cell, got it?"

"Hai,"

The head captain then waved me off and I left. The 1st floor of the tower was empty seeing that evening had set in, the only people that would still be here were people who were putting in some last minute overtime to complete some work. I again stuffed my hands into my pockets and began to lazily stroll out down the road towards home. I dwelled on the head captain's words and honestly, I didn't care much for his encouragement, I appreciate the sentiment but I didn't need to be told to exert my dominance when it came to team dynamics. I know how to concede when called for and disagree when needed, I wasn't a pushover nor a total tool. I actually wasn't really looking forward to this mission I hate working with people especially people like Junko, I knew she was going to be a pain in the ass to work with. I looked up at the partly cloudy night sky and watched as the moon was blanketed by a fluffy cloud. I let out a breath and continued slowly strolling through the village.

"Man, okaa-chan is gonna kill me for being late for dinner,"

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A/N: Again sorry for being so late to update, got a lot going on right now and I've been finding less and less time to write. So please don't think I'm one of those authors who only updates if the fic gets more followers. So a bit of an explanation this will not be Yuudai's team on a permanently. The way Iwagakure's cell system works and is structured is each branch; scouts, engineers, infantry, and medics all have captains in charge of them and these captains get daily briefs on missions that have been requested or military missions for the village, these captains then pick who they feel is best suited for the mission and that's how the cell is formed. Of course, this is a headcanon, and these captains are not to be confused with the death captains of the Executioner forces they are their own separate entity from the conventional forces. Anyways thank you for reading…. Until next time my friends.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13

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The air was cool as I walked towards the main gate of the village. I somehow managed to drag my lazy ass out of bed in time so I wouldn't be late, the last thing I want to deal with this early in the morning is complaining from people who I didn't know and really didn't care much for. Sure we were a team but that was just for this mission this was a temporary partnership, I may never work with these people again. I adjusted my katana that was fixed to my back with the hilt looming over my right shoulder, my uniform was a bit big on me but it wasn't too much of a hindrance I had already cut the sleeve short because I didn't like the idea of my entire hand being covered by it. My pants were also a little big and baggy but nothing much I could do about that, quite honestly I looked like an orphan who just got a brand new set of hand-me-downs.

I needed to complete this mission successfully so I could get some money and maybe get some alterations done to my other uniforms so they fit properly. The sun isn't up but its light was just beginning to shine over the horizon. As I approached the gate a figure was already learned up against one of the gate pillars. I closed the distance and made out Junko's figure and immediately my anger began to bubble, breath, Yuudai don't go starting anything this early in the morning. I made my way to the pillar across from her and leaned up against it.

"Morning Junko-senpai," I spoke. She yawned not covering her mouth and rubbed more sleep out of her eyes.

"Mornin'," she said.

Silence fell over us but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, there wasn't anything for us to talk about and neither of us was fond of the other it was a mutual 'leave me the hell alone' silence. I looked over Junko out the corner of my eye and she wasn't too bad looking despite her strong personality, physically she was still as feminine as could be. She was tall maybe 6 ft or 6' 1" and she was lanky with long limbs. A basketball coach would love to have her on their team she would have been an ideal guard. Her blonde hair gave her a wild exotic look, blonde hair was very rare in the Earth country and that made some questions about where her family lines trace back to. It also made me wonder how immigration worked between the five great nations and the minor ones, was there a global system? Or did each nation have its own laws dealing with the issue? What about people fleeing from war-torn places could they get asylum? I mean I hate politics but I do understand the importance of these issues, you don't have to like something to understand it same thing applies to people. Damn, I really just got off topic there.

I snapped back to reality and noticed it wasn't just Junko and myself anymore two more people apart of the cell had arrived during my little space out. Eiji who was over around Junko holding a one-sided conversation and Ayumi who was currently nose deep in a book, I believed Eiji was our other infantryman and Ayumi was our medic.

"Would you shut the fuck up Eiji! It's too early in the morning and you know I'm not a morning person!" Junko shouted. Eiji was taken aback and began to walk away from Junko in my direction. We made eye contact and I just shook my head.

"Don't come over here I'm not a morning person either," I said. "Just chill we'll be leaving soon," I had just picked up on Manabu's signature and he wasn't far off, so Eiji just needed to be quiet for five seconds and we can get this show on the road. Manabu soon appeared as predicted.

"Sorry, did I keep you guys waiting long?" he asked.

"No, let's get going," Junko said as she began to walk through the gates. I followed behind and the rest of the of the cell followed suit. This was easily a four to five hour trip to the northernmost border of Earth country. The elevation would increase as well which would thin the air even more than what it already was, breathing would be a bit more difficult for us plus any kind of fire ninjutsu effects would be lessened but not explosions so long as they were detonations and not deflagrations. The only information I wish I had was an enemy scouting report, I had asked for one when I stopped at HQ for mission supplies but somehow there wasn't one either that or the information was still being gathered and the intel branch had yet to put it out. I hated fighting blind knowing is half the battle and I like to have a well-planned plan of action and contingencies so I'd do less thinking in combat, more time you spend thinking less time you spend doing and that could get you killed. It's how a good friend of mines died he couldn't reload his weapon fast enough and the enemy tagged him, I didn't want that to be me out here.

The sun had risen and began to do its duty of scorching the earth. It was freaking HOT, it was never this hot in the village but then I guess the wind gust created by the mountain range it sits in helps with the temperature a bit.

"Hey, kid,"

I looked up to see Manabu scruffy face looking down at me, he had a lit cigarette that he was currently smoking on.

"What do you need senpai?" I asked. He blew out a cloud of smoke.

"Don't call me that makes me feel old, Manabu-san works,"

"Ok, what do need Manabu-san?" I repeated.

"Heh, you must not like a conversation. It's just straight to the point with you,"

"Well, I don't like dealing with people very much,"

"I can tell, your people skills are atrocious, you can't be too effective in a cell like that, teamwork and people skills go hand in hand," he said as he took another drag. Here we go another lecture about teamwork and how I suck at it.

"Leave him be Manabu, he'll be dead in a few hours anyway," Junko called back. I don't know what it was but she irritated me, I even tried to be civil to her this morning.

"Junko-chan, be a bit more considerate. This is his first mission after all," Ayumi said. "I'm sure he's nervous no need to make it worse,"

"I'm fine, too late to be scared or nervous now," I said.

"Ha, look at him talking tough to hide how he's feeling. I know your type kid seen em too many times, and you know what," Junko stop and looked at me over her shoulder. "Their all dead, so I don't have high hopes for you either. If you think you've earned some respect because of that bullshit tournament you're wrong. You're just another rookie about to be devoured by this cold unforgiving world,"

"That's enough Junko, leave the kid alone," Manabu said flicking his cigarette away. "He'll learn this isn't the academy on his own no need to add extra stress,"

Junko kissed her teeth at that last statement and continued walking, I was still trying to figure out what her deal was. People aren't just nasty to someone for no reason unless they have a psychological disorder or something close to it, no people only become nasty when someone violates a core belief that they have. Was it because I was late to the brief? maybe, who knows.

As we closed in on our destination I took the lead and we got into a normal patrol formation. I was 1,000 meters ahead of the group and I was on full alert, I kept my scanning the horizon for any movement and kept a constant check on my teammates to ensure that no one had got between us and was heading for them. The heat waves danced in the distance making the landscape a bit blurry, however, it wasn't long before a large building like silhouette appeared in the distance. I closed in on the building and pulled my chakra in as tight as possible so I wouldn't be easily detected, I continued to scan for any signs of life but the closer I got the more I began to realize how foolish that was.

Outpost 21 was in ruins. It looked like someone just leveled the place. The large watchtower that stood above the compound overlooking a cliff had been knocked over and laid crumbled of the east side of the compound. There was no smoke or indication that a fire had broken out but the walls were scorned with burn marks indicating that explosive tags or a fire element jutsu were used. The sight was still making my stomach churn with despair, I had a really bad feeling about what I was going to find once I entered the compound. I remained vigilant as I reached the walls of the outpost, I scanned for life one last time before I reached a giant hole in the wall itself leading into the compound's courtyard. I checked the hole for traps or explosive tags before I walked through.

The scene that my eyes began to soak in was horrifying. Bodies, dead bodies both from us and the hidden Haze. the stench of death and blood was amplified due to the sun cooking this entire area due to the lack of roofing, the smell was so dizzying to inhale I began to dry heave, I tried desperately to compose myself as I walked amongst the dead. Limbs laid everywhere, severed arms, legs, and head even some eyes had lost their rightful place inside someone's noggin. Weapons of all kinds lay scattered, the earth was cracked and scorched with burns, some bodies were charred indicating gruesome last few minutes of life. I reached a few hidden Haze shinobi and began to search the bodies for information, as I searched I noted that a lot of their bones in their bodies were crushed by an extreme force, some had their heads smashed in, others whole torso was flatted to the point their organs were pushed outside of the body and ruptured as well. This was done by an earth nature ninjutsu no doubt about that, the birds and buzzards fled as I approached the bodies they were currently feasting on at that time and I continued my search, I found it extremely incredible how effective ninjutsu was able to kill it may not be the most humane way of doing business however judging by the bodies the majority of the jutsu used by the hidden Haze were of the precision verity most likely lighting nature, our dead had cuts and pierce points in vital spots, but what was frustrating me was the lack of information as to how they carried out this attack. Sure there were signs of a frontal assault but for an enemy the size of the Haze that would be stupid and suicidal to attack a heavily fortified and guarded border outpost. I reached the other end of the courtyard where another hole was made I again checked for anything before walking through and was greeted with yet another terrible sight.

Four kunoichis tied gagged and clothes in tatters. Three out of the four were missing their bottoms, legs placed and tied in a position for ease of access. I knew what happened here but It was the last one at the end that had my blood boiling.

"Noelle," I said somberly as I moved closer to her lifeless body. Eyes wide in horror there were deep cuts on her arms and legs some shallow ones too, all her fingers and toes were cut off and a large cut from ear to ear to make it look like she was smiling. Like she was happy about what these animals did to her as she sat in a pool of her own blood. There was writing all over her body, obscene nicknames and insults were written under each cut. I saw the slash to her throat and assumed that was what put her out of her misery. I reached out and pushed down on her eyelids to close them shut forever. I noted her dry tear-streaked cheeks, she cried probably begged for her and her comrades lives to be spared. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat, Noelle wasn't a bad person, she was a hard worker and a 1st generation shinobi and she accomplished a lot in her young career, finishing in the top 15 of the class overall and top 3 in the medical course. If I recalled she really looked up to my mother, wanted to be just like her and she trained like it, and to see just how quickly her life got snuffed out was hard to accept. "Rest easy Noelle, I'll take it from here, these animals will pay with blood for what they did to you, I promise,"

"A classmate of yours?" came Manabu's low voice. I took in a breath and let it out slowly before speaking.

"Yeah, didn't know her well, we fought against each other in the tournament. That's about the extent of our history,"

"Still can't be easy to see,"

No, it wasn't but I was enraged these bastards of the hidden Haze had broken one of the key tenets of war.

'Spare your enemy after you've crushed their will to fight'.

Respect between warriors goes both ways, if you capture your enemies' camp and embarrassed them on the field of battle, you treat the ones left alive with dignity and respect because you realize that it could just as easily be you left defeated and your life is now within the opponents' hands. Should you find yourself in the position of power it is wise to spare those who have lost their will to fight, by showing your opponent mercy when the roles are reversed they will be inclined to show you the same mercy you showed them and also its how you can gain allies on the opposing side and makes peace negotiations easier. It was apparent was ignorant to this tenet and that was fine he would learn first hand why doing such an act to a defeated enemy is a fatal mistake. I would hunt this fucker down, encircle him give him no escape, no reprieve, and especially no mercy neither to him or to those who follow him, I would crush them thoroughly and send a message.

I rose to my feet without a word and started my search of the perimeter, I needed to put together what happened here so I could send up a report and possibly figure out our enemy's standard operating procedure. If I could get that little nugget of information we would have an advantage over the enemy and can predict movements, attack patterns, and defensive procedures. I headed towards the cliff where a haze was blocking my vision to the bottom, this was the boundary between us and the Land of Haze. There was something that just wasn't fitting together, how did they pull this raid off? All the signs were pointing to a frontal assault, but the body count of the enemy was throwing me off, I counted seven dead for the Haze and they wiped out fifteen of us, three full cells, which meant that in order to achieve at least a 2:1 advantage there had to be no less than thirty of them when they attacked initially. A frontal assault has a 50% attrition rate normally it can get as high as 65% and if the objective is achieved that can still be considered a successful attack. With only seven dead bodies there was no way they attacked head-on.

I made my way back inside of the compound's walls where Eiji and Ayumi were busy stacking the bodies so they could be disposed of. Junko was pulling security atop the western wall sitting crossed legged. I headed for the tower or at least what was left of it to see if I could find more clues as to what happened here, I had a few suspicions but no concrete evidence to back them but if my instincts were correct I'd find what I was looking for in the basement of the compound. I descended down the stairs within the tower and made it to the metal door leading to the basement, I gave it a tug and it wouldn't budge. I laid my shoulder into it next to the handle and it gave in but not much.

"Something is wedged on the other side? Yo! I need help down here," I shouted. Within seconds Manabu appeared behind me.

"She wedged shut?" he asked. I nodded and he began to form some hand signs. "Earth release: Iron-fist jutsu," Manabu's right hand became a dull silver like color, he cocked his arm back and laid into it right in the center. The door folded and fell towards us with a loud clunk and revealed the storage room, Manabu began to move towards the opening I quickly snatched his sleeve stopping him. He looked at me with a strange look before I pointed the ninja wire that was strung just after the door right before the small staircase.

"We'll let them have this one, I don't feel like suffering any casualties this early in the mission," I said as I turned back upstairs.

"I agree, good call kid,"

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We decided to leave outpost 21 and move to a more recently attacked outpost. Outpost 35 was hit three days ago according to Junko, I led the cell northwest along the border and this time there I put a much greater distance between us. Should the tower at the outpost still be intact and the enemy was occupying only I would be spotted and not the entire cell. As the structure came into view I saw white smoke indicating a fire was burning, the tower was still up but no one was inside it. I decided to continue forward and pushed chakra to my legs so I could close the gap between me and the compound as fast as possible. I reached the outer wall and glued myself to it and started to skip breath to cut down the amount of noise I was making, I was now able to hear some conversations but the thick walls were muffling them to a point that it was inaudible to my ears.

I glanced at the tower and decided that it would be my best vantage point and keep me somewhat out of the line of sight. I quickly scaled the tower and hopped over the railing and got as low to the ground as I could. Slowly I crawled over to the railing overlooking the courtyard and peeked over it.

One...two...three...four...five...six. Six haze shinobi, they were all lazing about enjoying some food, a small bonfire blazed in the middle of the courtyard with a few sticks with more meat near it slowly roasting.

"Man, I'm surprised the Stone hasn't come to reclaim this outpost yet," said one.

"Heh, after the way we crushed their other outpost I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to come to reclaim this one either, Ruji has their number and the next one we hit will be much worse," another shouted.

"I have to say they have some beautiful girls, it's unfortunate they were shinobi but at least we were able to have some fun with them before we killed em, that's what I like about Ruji he lets us go wild,"

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I clenched my fist. I struggled to keep my rational mind in charge. They were part of the group that attacked outpost 21, the ones who made Noelle suffer such a gruesome death. I knew without a doubt that if I attacked them right now with my cell so far behind me I'd be dead by the time they got to me, even with Dark Hold I would only be able to keep that jutsu active for three seconds if I began to move to attack them I didn't have the precise control to manipulate six people's sense of time and move at the same time to attack, hell even if it was one person I'd only have five seconds. I gritted my teeth in frustration no matter how you looked at it there was no way I could do this on my own like I wanted to, I'd have to rely on my cell for help with this one, I quickly scaled back down the tower and took off in the direction of my teammates.

I hopped into the small ditch where they were all sitting waiting on me.

"So?" Junko said giving me a pointed look.

"Six enemy shinobi have occupied the outpost, their security was relaxed but no telling how long that will last, the tower is still intact giving them at least a 600-800 meters line of sight, there were no signs of traps placed around the outpost, inside well that's another story. Best way to approach would be to use the cliff as cover and to move at night," I said.

"Fuck that we need to hit them now," Eiji said. "We ain't got the luxury of waiting till nightfall too much can change and you would have to constantly monitor the outpost for changes, which puts you at greater risk of being spotted, come on, kid I'm not a scout and I know that,"

I...forgot about that.

"So, actions on the objective? Anyone?" Ayumi asked.

"I'll initiate with explosive tags, Junko will smoke them out, Manabu will come from underneath them in the courtyard, Ayumi and the kid will take the tower and pick off the stragglers," Eiji suggested. "Ayumi do you have your bow with you?" She nodded and Eiji turned his gaze to me. "Looks like your on spotter duty kid,"

"Spotter duty?"

"God, are you really this stupid or are you putting on an act?" Junko asked. I opened my mouth to say something ignorant as a rebuttal.

"All you do is spot my targets for me and give me the distance and wind speed, you need to be quick about it," Ayumi cut in. "easy right?"

"Yeah, sure," I said begrudgingly because I didn't get to snap back at Junko. "Ayumi-senpai you wouldn't happen to have disinfectant on you?" I asked.

"Are you hurt?"

"No just need some for a little present I want the enemy to have,"

Ayumi reached into her medical pouch and brought out the bottle of disinfectant. She handed me the bottle after pulling the cork off, I brought the bottle and sniffed the fumes of the liquid, I smirked after verifying what exactly what was in the bottle.

Hydrogen Peroxide.

I took my bag off and reached down and pulled out a black orb with a short wick on it. I unscrewed the top half to reveal a light grey powder sitting at the bottom.

"The hell you planning kid?" Manabu asked.

"Making Eiji-senpai and Junko-senpai's lives a bit easier," I said as I poured the liquid into the powder, I also wet the wick that would be in contact with the mixture for some added insurance before putting the top back on it and screwing it shut. I handedthe the orb to Junko who looked studied it before shooting me a glare.

"The fuck is this?" she spat.

"A bomb," I deadpanned.

"Well no shit, what do you expect me to do with-"

"Junko-senpai, being in a cell is about trust right?" I cut in "Throw your smoke and then lite that bomb and chuck it in the courtyard, I promise you'll thank me later,"

We both stared at each other intensely before she turned away.

"I don't know about the whole thanking part but fine I'll trust you, but if this shit doesn't work I'm killing youkid," she said as stood up.

"Fair enough," I shrugged. "We should get going Ayumi-senpai, oh Junko-senpai I highly suggest that before you throw that bomb in that you make yourself some solid cover,"

With that Ayumi and I took off towards the cliff and lowered ourselves down to the side of the cliff face and stuck to it. Once we were stable on the jagged face of the earth we began sprinting to get into position for the assault. The haze that surrounded us provided great cover but also messed with my senses and footing having almost tripped a few times. Once we reached our vantage point Ayumi brought out her bow and readied an arrow. Her bow was mid-size bow thick in the middle and then slimming out towards the upper and lower limbs. I peeked over the cliff at the outpost it was hard to see with the sun's glare facing us but I could make out the shadow of an individual up in the watchtower.

"One in the watchtower, 35 meters at 72 degrees, wind blowing from southwest to northeast at 4 kilometers an hour. You'll be taking the shot facing the sun," I said over my shoulder. Ayumi nodded and readied her bow for the shot. I watched the target pace through the tower and waited I wanted him to face us before I let her take the shot. The shinobi slowly paced to our side of the tower and I lowered my arm. The arrow shot out with such force the wind around us changed direction and went with the arrow. Ayumi hit her mark as watched the pierce the target right in the chest and dropped under the railing. "That a good kill," I said as I shot her a thumbs up.

"Thanks, we should get going shouldn't we?"

I caught a glimpse of Junko throwing in the smoke bombs and then preparing my homemade bomb.

"Nope, I think we are going to want to stay right here," I said as Junko threw the lit orb over the wall and into the courtyard. "Get all the breath out of your lungs and roll your tongue to the back of your mouth otherwise…you may die,"

Ayumi watched me do it and decided to repeat my actions. For a split second all the air was sucked out and towards the outpost before a violent bang shook the earth to its very core. The air rushed past us violently as if a hurricane made landfall on our position the gusts made it extremely difficult to stay planted to the side of the cliff face. Debris was flung in all directions huge rocks and boulders were flung off the cliff as if they were mere pebbles. There was this smell of chemicals and burning of various types of materials all mixed together into a vile concoction, despite having my ears plugged there was still a ringing going off in my head as if someone had just hit a gong down an empty enclosed space. Once I deemed it safe enough I peeked over the cliff to see the outpost was completely decimated. The tall walls were reduced to rubble you could step over, the watchtower or what was left of it was flung off into the distance and laid destroyed.

"My god," I heard Ayumi whisper. "There's no way they survived that," I pulled myself up and over the cliff and began walking towards the now ruined outpost, with Ayumi hot on my heels. "All this from just adding disinfectant to a smoke bomb? How?"

"Chemistry," I said simply. "Explosives are simple all you need is a chemical that burns at a high rate, a fuel, and an object to deliver it in. If you understand chemistry and explosive theory the rest is easy," I said as we entered what was left of the outpost.

"What the hell was that!" Junko exclaimed as she approached us from the opposite side of the compound.

"An explosion," I said in a matter of fact tone. Junko b-lined it for me and ripped me up by my collar.

"We could have fucking died cuz' of you!"

"But did you?" I said. Junko's face twisted in rage.

"Put the kid down Junko, he did warn us to get some good cover," Eiji said as held his chest. "I just wished he would have told us how big the blast was going to be, that shit knocked the wind right out of my sails," he said with a chuckle and winced at the end of it. "Ayumi I'm going to need some help here,"

"Well we're all in one piece, however, I don't think this is something that should be reported to the higher-ups, might get our young bombmaker over there in trouble," Manabu said as he pulled a cigarette out.

I bit Junko's hand and she dropped me cursing my existence, I quickly move to Manabu and snatched the stick out of his hands and put it in my pouch.

"You trying to kill us Manabu-san? Those chemicals are still floating around in the airspace, the smallest spark and this whole area will go boom again. I'll hold onto your cigarette until we've cleared out of here,"

Manabu just chuckled before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well we killed the enemy but killed any chances of getting any information out of them," Junko said. "Hope you willing to take responsibility for that kid,"

She was right, that explosion vaporized anyone that was within the blast radius. So now we were literally back to square one.

"Oops," I said with a smirk. I turned towards the cliff the boundary between us and the Land of Haze. "Looks like I got work to do,"

Hikigaya Ruji your worst nightmare is coming for you.

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A/N: sorry for the slow updates…life has been kicking my butt recently as always thank you for reading tell me what you guys think if you feelyourself inclined to do so, all reviews and comments are welcomed….. Until next time my friends.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 14

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Our next stop was the border town Jinkuya which was located deep inside of a mountain. Most towns and cities in the Land of Earth were built in this manner, either they were dug into mountainsides or into mountain ranges with only a few ways in or out. I heard that our capitol was partially underground as well, and I could understand why the Land of Earth's weather was… turbulent to put it kindly. There weren't four seasons here just two, really frigging hot and windy or bone-chilling cold and windy, the wind was always around due to the jet stream that flows right over the land. So instead of being completely exposed to the elements, people decided to dig themselves into the earth, and it works well.

"So why are coming to this town again kid?" Junko asked in an annoyed voice.

I let out a breath.

"To gather information," I said simply.

"And why is that?" she asked sarcastically.

"Bitch!" I said as I lunged for her but I was immediately grabbed by the collar by Manabu. "I get it I made a stupid, impulsive decision, but your heckling about it these past few days have been really pissing me off," I growled.

"Oh my, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" she said with a smirk.

"All right enough you two, Junko quit trying to provoke him at least he's doing something about his poor decision," Manabu said. Junko huffed and turned her head away from me. "As for you kid, quit allowing a woman to mess with your emotions, that will get you killed one day," he said as he released me.

"Fuck off," I said as I walked away from the group. "I'll come to find you guys when I've found the lead we need,"

I made my way into the busy town center and began to look for the markers that would lead me to one of the satellite scouting bases hidden in every city and town in the Land of Earth. These bases were important due to the sheer amount of information that gets collected here and then sent up to HQ back in the village. They were disguised as normal places of business; inns, restaurants, even brothels, and bars. There was a lot, us scouts had to keep track of in our country and this was just one of the many ways we accomplished this. The only downside was that the locations and passwords to gain access to these bases were only known to the scouts and that was to minimize the chances of compromise. Again information was the Hidden Stone's top priority so only a select few would be trusted with its gathering and protection. The first marker was scribbled on a wall in an alleyway where other forms of graffiti from a local Yakuza family were also scribbled wildly. The characters were alien-like symbols with various shapes and marks within them that spelled out a cryptic message for me.

'Continue your path, the left is always your enemy, the right friends can be your salvation. Down to hell, we descend, where we will drink with the devil and remember poor decisions made.'

I continued down the alley and made the first left before making a right I soon came to a flight of stairs that the darkness seemed to swallow after the first three steps, I began my descent into the dark abyss making sure I felt out every step before committing my footing to it, before long I could see rows of torches dotting the darkness. I reached the bottom of the stairs and began to walk forward, I kept my senses on high alert for my protection and to ensure no one was following me. This area had to be the towns 'red-light district', there were women sitting on benches dressed in kimonos and there were drunken men in the streets. What really gave it away was the men who moved in a crowd all of them had tattoos all over their arms and some had a few on there faces. This place smelled of perfume, sake, and some kind of floral smell? Whatever that smell was it had to be a drug of some sort. I strapped my headband back on my forehead to avoid any questions as to why I was down here and began looking for the next marker.

I would sidestep any of the gang mobs roaming the streets and did my best to stay out of the path of any of the loud drunkards cat-calling at the women who were walking by at the moment, out of the corner of my eye I spotted a small half arrow at the corner and looked at the small store next to it and saw the other half arrow at the top corner of that building. I stepped over a man who was either passed out drunk or high out of his mind and walked into the alley before long I saw a sign that was illuminated by a torch.

"Devil's' Playground huh?"

I knocked on the steel door, and the shutter above me opened to reveal two brown irises staring down at me.

"Can a king rule for ten years?"

"Without five legends, his kingdom is doomed to crumble in that time times two years,"

The shutter closed and the door creaked open.

"He will be behind the bar in the manager's office,"

"Thank you," I said as I slipped past the door and into the dark hallway. At the end was a lit room to the left and like a moth, to a flame, I walked towards that light. I could hear the voices of men and the giggles of women echo through the hall as I approached, once inside I scanned the room for the bar. The atmosphere was light with a dash of sexual tension, men were drinking as were the women both enjoying the company of the other. I located the bar which was in the back of the hall off to the left. I began walking through the row of floor tables ignoring the strange looks I was receiving due to my appearance in age and approached the bartender.

"Oh, been a while since we've had a shinobi visit, what brings you here little one?" the bartender asked.

"Need to speak with the manager," I said as I passed the bar and went around back. The door to the manager's door was connected to the bar itself. I knocked on the door as a courtesy before entering. I shut the door behind me and immediately dodged a bottle that smashed against the door next to my head. The smell of sake filled my nostrils as the liquid coated my hair due to the explosion of the bottle.

"I didn't say you could enter kid," came a voice that was somewhat foreign to me. "If it wasn't for the fact that you are my brother's son I'd have killed you already," I looked over and saw a large imposing figure standing over me. "Long time no see, Yuudai,"

"Isamu-jiisan?" I asked.

"Correct," he said with a large grin similar to my father's.

Isamu was my father's younger brother and my uncle, he wasn't as tall as my father nor was he as muscular but he too had an imposing slim figure. His hair was also dark brown and it was long like to his lower back long but it was completely wrapped tight in a long red hair tie making it into a slim ponytail style. He wore an eye patch over his right eye and had a grizzly scar running vertically underneath said patch. His eye was a lighter brown than my fathers but unlike the playfulness that could be seen in my father's his was more so filled with uninterest if that makes any sense, it was like he lost that playfulness my father had very early on in life and he just never got any of it back. He slowly moved behind his desk that was covered with maps, books, and paperwork. The blown up map of the Land of Earth loomed behind him with pictures various marks and notes scribbled on it, there was also red yarn connecting different points showing some correlation between the two.

"So what brings you here nephew?" he asked.

"I'm looking for someone," I said as I reached into my pouch and pulled out the picture of my target, I threw it towards my uncle who caught it between two fingers. He turned it and studied it for a quick second and scoffed.

"Really? The village has you wasting your time on this guy?"

"What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said he's a waste of time, he's nothing more than a head on a hydra. Nothing will stop if he's killed, in fact, I think it will inflame things even more,"

"I don't care about any of that I just want to complete my mission, do you have the lead I seek or not ojiisan?" I said.

My uncle leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

"I do, the thing is what kind of trouble will be caused for me once you complete this retarded mission you've been sent on, the cost really outweighs the reward," he said slowly. "Yuudai do you know why we are at odds with the Haze?"

"No, I do not," I said. My uncle let out a breath of frustration.

"What the hell are they teaching you kids in the academy nowadays? Listen we started this conflict, so no matter what we do they will not quit attacking us."

"And why would we do such a thing?" I asked. I had a feeling, however, what the answer was going to be, there were only a few reasons why one country would attack another.

"Well, one is money, but the other was the fact that the Haze was getting a little too friendly with the Leaf, and we can't have that so we demanded that the Haze cut ties with the Leaf and they refused. So we attacked in retaliation,"

"So why hasn't the Leaf attacked us back? If we launched our attacks first then it would be well in their right to protect their allies right?"

My uncle sat up and grabbed a scroll of the desk in front of him and flung it at me. I caught the scroll mid-air and unraveled it.

'Lord Nifuji,

I understand the predicament that you are in and I sympathize with you. What the Stone village is doing to you and your people is wrong and they must be held accountable, however, currently with the state of affairs back in my village I cannot send you anyone of high status to assist you in your struggle for peace. There would be too many people right now that would question my decision to send shinobi to your land, plus the Stone would see it as an act of aggression and probably declare war on both of us. It is because of this reason I cannot send any form of physical aid to you, but I can provide you intel on the Stone that will give you insight on their tactics, personnel, and outpost locations just to make it a bit easier on you and your men. Believe me when I say that I wish I could halt their aggression but as of right now this is the best I can do until there is a shift in the elders' feelings towards the Hidden Stone.'

Signed,

Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Holy fuck. Just how close were we to the 3rd war?

I rolled the scroll back up and tied the rope back before tossing it back to my uncle.

"How old is that message?" I asked.

"Hmm, about five days old since we intercepted it, they have already asked the Leaf for physical backup they may or may not have a formal treaty with them but should the Leaf get involved with this conflict then that will mean war between us and them. Also, did they tell you that your target is the leader of the Hidden Haze son?"

"What of it?" I snapped back. "He should know the risk involved with allowing his son to be a shinobi,"

"That doesn't mean he still won't seek his revenge after the fact, humans have a tendency to be irrational when angered," He had a point there would be no telling what the leader would do when he finds out that his own son was hunted down and killed like a dog. This really just became an even more serious situation than previously briefed. The captains had to know about this, and if they did and still sent us to execute an order 66 against the leader's son then they know that they are steering us right into the beginning of a war. "So tell me Yuudai, what will you do now that you have this information and deeper understanding of the situation, you do realize that if you go through with this mission that you will be possibly signing the death warrants of thousands of people. Can you shoulder that kind of responsibility?" he asked somberly.

That was a good question, but it wasn't one I was unfamiliar with. I've had to make hard choices on the battlefield before, choices that directly lead to the deaths of people under my command. This isn't much different but…

"It's not I that would be signing their death warrants nor will their blood be on my head, that responsibility falls on the head of the Tsuchikage, the elders and his captains. Should they have this information and understand the implications that the completion of this mission will bring and they still sent me and my cell out to execute this order then it's glaringly obvious that they either don't see it as such a big deal or they don't care and are trying to start a war with the Leaf. either way ojii-san I have a mission to complete and I will not allow political scenarios to impede the completion of it, so I ask you to give me the information I need to find my target," I said evenly. "Currently it is not my place to fight against the orders I've been given even if I have information that tells me things will turn out terribly for me and my countrymen, should that be the case I will have to stand with them and face these consequences head on,"

My uncle studied my face looking for any kind of waver that he could exploit...there was none. I was firm in my words I was willing to face the repercussions of my actions no matter what, I was skeptical that this would lead to the 3rd war, however, I couldn't be sure because I had no idea what actually started the war, to begin with. This very well could be that spark then again it could be nothing at all. Maybe the third Hokage was doing nothing but trying to reassure the Hidden Haze's leader nothing more nothing less.

" I see, your probably just as bloodthirsty as those who are leading the village right now,"

"Ojii-san, I don't know what grievances you have against the village, however, do not accuse me of bloodlust out of convenience," I said.

"Yeah? Well, this is how it starts, the shedding of blood can become very addicting to some people, anyways, your target's last known location was reported to be at the southern border,"

"How did he move down there without anyone noticing?!" I said taken aback.

"Simple, he used the 'Dark Road', this was reported about 15 hours ago,"

The Dark Road a web of underground routes that lead in and out of the country. Formerly used as a way to move shinobi to different battlefields during the 1st war it quickly was mapped out by Konoha's Hyuuga clan and their Kekkei Genkai rendering it useless. Now it was nothing but a drug and human trafficking route that was limited to a few select routes the others were cut off. No one knows what has become of those routes that were cut off or what wildlife has made it their home.

"Any idea as to why he's around the southern border?" I asked. My uncle just shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mines kid, but I've done my job now go do yours," he said dismissively.

"Jeez, you and Akako-Obasan would make a great pair," I said jokingly. Isamu scoffed at the suggestion.

"I would never date that witch, I'd rather have someone castrate me and feed me my own parts than spend a lifetime with her," he said in disgust.

"Too much information," I said as I opened the door to leave.

"Yuudai,"

"Hmmm?" I hummed as I looked over my shoulder.

"You be safe ya' hear?" he said.

I flashed him a wide toothy smile.

"No promises,"

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Armed with the information I needed I quickly gathered my cell together and left for the southern border. I kept the pace of moving as fast as I could without exhausting myself or the others. I was already behind 15 hours so there was no telling how long I had before his tracks would go cold and then I would be back at square one. Our southern border was shared with three minor lands: the Land of Stone, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Grass. The Land of Stone had no shinobi village and was kind of like an extension of the Land of Earth, but Rain and Grass had shinobi villages and were classified as hostiles to our village. Now came the hard part where was Ruji heading and for what reasons? My gut was telling me he was in Grass country, simply because the Land of Grass shares a border with Fire Country and the fact that no leaf shinobi would dare go through the Land of Rain, not after the way they ravaged the land during the last war.

I knew that the Haze has had contact with Konoha and with that established link could within reason assume he was there possibly doing some form of business with them there. Now the only thing was where exactly within Grass country were they?

"Yuudai!" I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to Eiji who was running next to me. "About time you looked over here, where are we heading?"

"Grass country," I said. "Due to the information I got, I have reason to believe our target has gone to the Land of Grass to do a meet up with the Leaf,"

"Are you serious?!" he asked.

"As a heart attack," I said.

"Why would they-"

"Simple," I cut in. "they know they can beat us in a prolonged struggle, we Stone shinobi thrive in war, our land has not known peace since its inception. So they are trying to solicit assistance from the only village that has the capabilities to beat us,"

"Jeez this has become a real pain in the ass," came Junko's voice from behind me. "Is our target the key to all this?"

That was a good question, was he? If we were to complete our mission how would the landscape of the conflict change? I saw this going three ways: one, we kill Ruji and his father is gripped with such grief that he loses his will to continue the conflict and surrenders. Two and this was a wors t-case scenario, he becomes enraged and continues to try and get the Leaf to help him take his revenge against us for the loss of his son, that will then, in turn, kick off the 3rd great shinobi world war. There was another wors t-case scenario but this was one that worked more into our favor and that was we completely wipe the Hidden Haze ofthe the face of the map. Lay siege to the village and the land as a whole until they are crushed under our feet, kill the landowner, all those who support him, all shinobi and their families, and install our own puppet as landlord and keep them from ever rising against us again.

Was it ruthless? Yes, and I was fine with that. This is the ugly truth about conflicts and war.

Once one starts there is no such thing as a peaceful resolution. The time for a peaceful resolution was before blood was shed, now the only way to resolve this was to shed more blood than your adversary. This now became a sadistic game of chicken, who will waver first? Who will get sick of the sight of death and destruction first? Who will tire of the mothers and wives crying over their husbands and children's deaths? You see those who believe there is always a peaceful solution to end a war or conflict after blood has already been shed are nothing but people possessed by a foolish and irrational ideology. They do not understand basic human nature, and thus consistently forget that people both men and women are ruled by their emotions, and war is nothing but the worse human emotions: hate, anger, greed, envy, pride, gluttony, deceitfulness, being manifested in the physical realm. If you think you can reason with an already irrational person surrounded by this kind of environment then your foolishness will even be an insult to genuine fools.

"Any Idea where they would be meeting?" Ayumi asked.

There was only one major landmark that I knew of in that country, and it was the future grave site of 1,000 Iwa shinobi.

"The Kanabi Bridge," I said.

We crossed into Grass country and swiftly made our way over to the bridge. Thankful it was night time and the new moon was out so it was darker than usual. We hid in the shadows of the trees overlooking Kanabi Bridge and waited. By my calculations and if I was correct Ruji was spotted at the southern border 15 hours from the time I received the information, so he was a half a day ahead of us it took us 4 hours to travel to the border and 2 hours to reach the bridge. A total of 21 hours. Using the stars as a reference due to the new moon and doing some quick math in my head I estimated that it was currently 10:45 in the evening. I was guessing here but I assumed that if Ruji was coming here to meet with anyone from the Leaf it would be around the hours of 2 and 3 AM. I got comfortable in my little perch and reached into my pouch and pulled out a soldier pill. I popped it in my mouth and swallowed it whole.

Now we waited.

Hours passed and there was nothing but the sound of crickets playing their songs, the ruffing of leaves in the light breeze. Nothing tickled my senses but the light dull chakra of my teammates. Everything was calm… then a twig snapped below me and it immediately put me on edge, had we been discovered? My heart began to race but I refused to move a muscle. I held my breath and heard more branches snapping below me. Before long Ruji and three others walked out of the woods we were in and approached the bridge, in a flash two ANBU from Konoha appeared on the other side of the bridge anda my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I looked at the tree to my four o'clock and used hand signs to relay to Junko what was happening.

'Two Konoha ANBU are currently meeting with Ruji and three others'

She nodded and began relaying the info to the others. I turned my attention back to the meeting just in time to see an exchange take place of two scrolls. The ANBU disappeared and Ruji and his men began making their way back towards us. I quickly looked back at Junko.

'They are coming back into the forest, get ready to attack'

She nodded and relayed back. Our target moved back into the woods and slowly began to move deeper in. I could hear my heartbeat in my ear as I pulled out a kunai and raised my free hand, Ayumi would be the one to initiate contact but on my signal. Our target moves carefully but was still completely oblivious to the trap he was walking into. Once he got directly underneath me I dropped my hand and in that split second chaos ensued.

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys, my life has just been hectic but I'm back and ready to take on this new year, the 17th was my one year anniversary of being an online author so there's that. Again I like to thank all of you for reading my work, you guys really make this worthwhile. As always review if you are so inclined to do so all comments with reasons are welcomed helps me become a better writer and as always…..until next time my friends.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

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Ayumi's arrow flew straight and true nailing Ruji right in the shoulder, I quickly dropped down and dug a kunai into the throat of one of his guards that stood next to him. Manabu sent another one of his guards flying out of the forest and over the edge of the cliff with one solid punch. Ruji and the other tried to retreat and managed to get up into the trees and past Eiji, they moved with haste and quickly put some distance between us.

"Ayumi!" Eiji yelled.

The snap of Ayumi's bow rang out through the forest, and we watched as the body of the last guard came crashing down to the ground like a plane shot of the sky. I quickly took point so I could do the tracking down of our prey. I jumped into the trees and saw the blood that was leaking from Ruji due to his injury. I reached down and wiped the blood with two fingers and took a big whiff of it to familiarize my sense of smell with his and took off after him. Ruji was desperately doing anything he could to throw me off his trail he was even using a clone to make two separate trails and scents to confuse me, but I wasn't fooled because there was one scent the clone wasn't giving off and that was the iron smell of fresh blood. I wasn't going to let him get away from me, not only because it was my mission to kill him but because I wanted some kind of justice for Noelle.

"Yuudai!" came Eiji voice and right then I saw a glint in my peripheral. Without much time to react Immediately, I pulled my arms up to block my face and felt multiple kunai plunge into various parts of my body. I landed on a nearby branch and tried to pull out the kunai before my senses alerted me to even more danger and I dropped for the branch I was perched on just before more kunai rained down on that very spot. I took cover behind a tree before I once again felt , endangered and ducked out of the way of a sword swing that sliced right through the tree I was using for cover.

My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, my mind was overloaded with information and couldn't process things at the speed I needed it making all my actions an instinctual reaction to my environment. I kept dodging this phantom that was trying to kill me. I say phantom because I couldn't see who was attacking me but I felt their presence, the overwhelming bloodlust that was radiating off of them as they tried to snuff my life out. I tried to feel out for my teammates and almost made a fatal error in my evasive movement as I felt the blade lightly nick my cheek. I tried to create some distance from whoever this was but it just seemed futile as they kept pace with me and kept me on the defensive.

I felt helpless, outclassed, and inferior. This person was WAY outside my skill level. I dodged another attack before trying to form some hand seals.

"Too slow," I heard whispered into my ear and it sent a chill down my spine…I fucked up. Then in that instant, there was a gust of wind that blew past me and saw red droplets fly out some of which landed on my face and heard a thud behind me. My opponent had been struck by an arrow right through his left eye socket.

"Oi, get your shit together," I heard Junko say from behind me. "Your job is to track not to fight right now so get to it, we'll catch up,"

She was right.

"Yeah yeah, I know damnit," I said as I tugged the last few kunai out of me. I sniffed the air and got back on Ruji's trail, it was faint but I could still follow it. I began to head in the direction of his sent while ducking and dodging the chaos that was all around me. My injuries hindered my speed but through sheer willpower, I was still able to keep pace and slowly began to close the distance between Ruji and myself. It wasn't long before the forest became canyons signaling we had crossed the border and was in the Land of Stone, it was at this point I began to worry because it was just me and there was no telling if I was walking into another trap or ambush. I'd be dead if I was I had absolutely no chance of overcoming a situation where I was outnumbered, and if it came down to it I would run before dying like an idiot trying to make some sort of last-ditch effort to hold on till my team got to me.

I traversed the canyons as I continued to track my target, he had slowed his pace which allowed me to slow mines. All I needed to do was keep him within striking distance so when my cell catches up we could take him down, that was plan A.

Suddenly he stopped moving.

I stopped as well and ducked into a small canyon crack, his chakra shuffled around a bit and then made a beeline for my location.

"Fucking hell," I spat as I got out of my hiding spot and began to run back in the direction I just came from. It wasn't long before he was closing the distance between us. I pulled my sword from its scabbard and turned on a dime and headed straight for Ruji. At this point I fully accepted whatever fate awaited me for my decision, completely freeing my mind from the chains of worry, regret, and chained my fear down so it wouldn't interfere with my body's actions nor my mind's clarity.

Ruji appeared in my sight and it seemed instant but then there was a clash of metal and finally, we werefinally face to face. I stared into his eyes and he stared into mines.

"I've been looking for you, Ruji," I said with a smirk. We broke contact and lunged at each other again our weapons clashing again, and again, once more before we got some distance between us.

"I see, well you've found me. I'm sure you're not here just to become friends,"

I chuckled.

"Close but not quite," I said. I exploded towards him and brought my sword down to my left hip, I watched his body ready for an attack from that side and waited till the last moment and brought my sword in an upwards cut. Ruji stepped back dodging the attack but I followed with a leg sweep causing him to lose his footing and I lunged my sword towards his chest and pierced him. Ruji's body solidified and turned into stone, the real one popped out of the ground right between my arms and my body with a kunai aimed for my throat.

I let my sword go to arch backward and compressed my body until the majority of my weight was supported by my arms. My feet made contact with his body within that split second I allowed my body to uncoil and jammed my feet as hard as I could into him. I sent him flying away from me as soon as I made contact with the ground again I picked my sword back up and raced after him. He landed on his feet ready for my next attack, I came at him with a horizontal slash which he stopped for a split second and then let my momentum carry me through the rest of the movement. I dropped my blade and pulled out some shuriken we both attacked at the same time as I threw the flying blades into his chest he drove his two kunais into my back. I gritted my teeth in pain and quickly formed some hand seals.

"Earth Release: Mobile Earth Core!"

The ground below Ruji sunk and I jumped high into the air and began to throw kunai after kunai into the new hole I created. I watched Ruji escape the pit and come after me in the air, I reached into my pouch pulled out a smoke bomb, lit it and tossed it between us. Ruji reached the bomb and it blew right in front of him. I turned my body towards the earth and threw two more smoke bombs to cover my movements once I landed. I hit the ground and quickly located my sword, once back in my hands I began to push chakra through it. Ruji was still in the air and passed through the smoke cloud.

"Akumu Sword Art," I began as got into my stance. "Shippuuga!"

The shockwave headed straight for Ruji and sliced right through him but instead of blood raining down it was nothing but rocks. I felt his presence behind me and formed a half seal.

"Dark Hold!" I shouted. Ruji's movements froze and I began to puke blood, I looked at the kunai that would have pierced my neck and moved just out of range and fell before the jutsu canceled itself. Ruji looked confused as I seemed to teleport from in front of him to sitting on the ground a few inches away. I got to my feet created some distance and brought my blade up in front of me.

"You're not bad for someone your age,"

"T-thanks," I coughed out still on guard for his next attack.

"Tell me, why someone as young as you decided to become a shinobi?"

I spat out some blood this time.

"Really? Trying to have a conversation with your opponent in the middle of the fight?" I questioned. "Don't think you can talk me down from killing you,"

Ruji laughed.

"I don't think you'll be killing me today, I just wanted to know why kids your age become shinobi for your village? Isn't there other things you wanted to be?"

"No, I come from a long line of shinobi and shinobi monks. This is what I was born to do,"

Something felt off, his body language seemed relaxed almost calm like he wasn't worried in the slightest about me.

Then I felt it, and my heart dropped. Multiple chakra signatures heading right for us, none of them belonged to Eiji, Junko, Manabu, or Ayumi. I looked at Ruji and he had a smirk on his face that made me sick. I had to do something I couldn't go home empty handed but if I do what I was thinking I would die regardless. The border to the Land of Earth was at least 20 miles away.

Goddamn it all.

I sprinted right for Ruji and he readied himself. Once in striking range, I snapped that half seal again.

"Dark Hold,"

Time stopped and I reached into his shirt and grabbed the scrolls he received from Konoha. The jutsu canceled and I took off with all the speed I could muster while trying to keep my body from shutting down. At this point I didn't care what happened I just wanted to make home alive, I pushed as much chakra as I could to my legs and picked up the pace to keep Ruji out of attack range. I could feel my chakra system restricting in pain as I continued to push it further and further past its limits. My vision began to blur as I traversed the treacherous landscape trying with all my strength not to slip or fall into one of the many hidden pits that dotted this land. My legs felt heavy and with each step, it became harder and required more willpower to move them. I counted the miles in my head as I pushed on.

1….2….3….4….5….

Ruji's backup had caught up by this point and I knew I wasn't going to make it to the border so I began to try and figure out a way to give them the slip, my mind was hazy due to all the stress I was putting on my body and chakra network but I was able to pick up the sound of rushing water. It was then I remembered the Land of Stone was cut horizontally by a river that empties into the western sea, it also ran close to the Land of Earth's border. The only problem was if I jumped into the river the temperature alone would be enough to send me into shock and if I get carried all the way into the sea I'm as good as dead. I peeked behind me and saw the hunting party that was behind me and that sight alone told me what my alternate option was.

I was screwed either way.

I made haste towards the river which was only another couple hundred meters ahead, it seemed my 'friends' may have caught on to what I was about to attempt and got on both sides of me. I pushed more chakra into my legs and tried my hardest to out stride my pursuers. I could see the cavern that that mighty river cut over time and made one last push for it.

Why am I getting a sense of deja vu right now?

I shook the random thought out of my head and jumped off the edge. I looked down and saw the river raging uncontrollably ready to sweep whatever it came across along for the ride. Some of my pursuers jumped past me looking to cut me off on the other side, I simply smirked at them.

"Sorry this is my stop," I said before gravity took over and began to pull me down towards the icy waters.

"Get the scrolls from him! Before he hits the water!"

I pulled out one last bomb but this time it was one of the special mixtures that I had made. I lit it and chucked it towards those who were fool enough to jump after me.

"It's just a smoke-"

 _KABOOM_

The shockwave pushed me even faster through the air and my body hit the waters.

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Slowly my senses began to reactivate, I was warm and comfortable. So I must have finally died and well I might not be in heaven but it sure felt like it. I slowly opened my eyes and quickly realized that I was wrapped in blankets.

"Oh, you're awake," My head immediately snapped to the voice that came from right beside me. There was a woman kneeling next to me with a bucket and a rag in her hands. "How do you feel?"

I sat up easily enough but I felt so sore. Sore to the point I wouldn't dare try to stretch my limbs right now.

"Well I'm alive so there's that," I said.

The woman rose to her feet and began to leave the room.

"I'll go fetch my husband, he wanted to speak to you when you recovered," she said as she left the room. I quickly began to analyze the room looking for any clues that could tell me just where I was, to no avail. I began to look for my gear and saw everything minus my pack all in a corner across the room. I began to check my body out thoroughly and there wasn't much to see other than bandages that started at both wrist and went up to my biceps, my chest and back was also heavily bandaged as well as my legs and my cheek had a big patch covering that cut I received.

I was basically a mummy just of the living variety.

All in all, I was banged up pretty good but I was alive, and as a shinobi that's really more than you can ask for. Whatever greater power if there is one decided it's not my time yet, which is fine by me. I fell back and winced at the pain the shot through me when I made contact with the futon. So my injuries are still fresh which meant I wasn't out for very long which is good.

My mind drifted to the scroll and I snapped back up. I jumped out of the futon and scrambled over to my things and began to search my pouch.

Nothing…. I shook my uniform…. Nothing. I gritted my teeth, all that for nothing.

"I see you're up and about, man shinobi sure are incredible,"

I looked over my shoulder and saw the woman and a tall man next to her.

"I take it this is your husband," I asked the woman. She nodded and backed out of the room shutting the door in front of her. The man now standing alone in the room with me wasn't very physically imposing however he didn't look out of shape either, he also looked young like late teens early twenties young. He wore his yukata with only his right arm through the sleeve, his whole left chest and arm were exposed and it was covered in tattoos which signaled to me exactly what he was involved in. His greenish-blue irises were filled with pride and ambition, his smile was crooked, his hair short and unkept and in it, he kept a pair of shades secured in the mess of hair. The man sat down next to the futon.

"Come have a seat, let's discuss some things. My wife will return with tea shortly," he said with that crooked smile still plastered on his face. I made my way across from him and sat down. "Well let's start with introductions, names Josai, and you?" he asked.

I hesitated for a bit.

"Yuudai," I said.

"A splendid name, I'm expecting a child here so I'm trying to come up with a good name, I'm pretty terrible at coming up with names my wife has rejected every single one so far," he laughed at himself for a bit. "So, can you tell me why you washed up on the river bank near my place?"

"I was taking a bath upstream and got swept away with the current in a flash flood," I lied.

Josai studied me.

"And your injuries?"

"Sparring practice that got out of hand," I lied again.

"You really like lying don't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said locking eyes with Josai. We both stared at each other for a second. The door opened which made Josai break eye contact with me to look at his wife with longing.

"Hey kid, tell me is she not the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?" he asked.

"I'm a child, I have no interest in girls,"

He barked in laughter and grabbed his sides. His wife placed two cups of hot green tea between us.

"You crack me up kid, I guess you have a point," he said as he grabbed his cup and took a sip. I stared at the cup of tea, I didn't know these people and I wasn't about to ingest poison just to show good will. "You're not thirsty I take it,"

"Not in the slightest, however, I do appreciate the sentiment," I said as I bowed my head to his wife.

"Well, where were we? Oh yeah, so I'll ask again," It was then I felt the atmosphere in the room change, Josai's body language turned threatening. Not that it bothered me in the slightest even myself as a genin was as strong as a small civilian army and my injuries weren't going to be too much of a hindrance in an escape attempt. "Why were you washed up on the river bank?"

"And I told you already-"

"Before you answer," he cut in. "let me inform you of your situation currently, right now you are a foreign shinobi in the Land of Wind, which under your laws could be seen as an aggressive act and I know the Land of Wind and Earth still have bad blood from the last war. Second," Josai reached into his yukata and pulled out the scrolls that were missing from my pouch. I kept my poker face up not allowing an ounce of emotion to show. "These looks to be very important, I mean why would a Stone shinobi be carrying scrolls stamped by the Hidden Leaf addressed to the leader of the Hidden Haze?" Josai rested his cheek on his right fist and smirked at me. "Do you understand the situation you're in now? I could ruin everything for you, all you have to do to prevent that is cooperate, sound fair right,"

I let out a breath, of course, it sounds fair, for him at least.

"Fine," I spat.

The round of questioning was short and I answered every question with as much honesty that I could without endangering any information that would put my village in harm's way, I may not care much for Iwa but I still live there and any hell that is brought there I will have to deal with too. Josai was very knowledgeable when it came to the geopolitical landscape and the current events going on. He knew about the ongoing conflict between Iwa and Haze as well as a few other things that he refused to share with me.

"Are we done? If so I'd like to leave," I said.

"Almost, we need to discuss your payment for my saving your life and the care my wife provided you,"

I shot him a glare. He just wanted everything he could get the greedy bastard. He knew I wasn't in much of a position to protest him either.

Never again I promised myself, never again will I be put in this kind of loser situation again.

"Well then, get on with it," I said.

"You really should work on that mouth of yours, it will make it hard for you to strike deals with people in the future," he said.

"Well thank Kami I'm not in the field of doing business, now name your price,"

"It's not a price more of an offer, a partnership if you will, you see I've been trying to expand outside of the Land of Wind and the market in the Land of Earth looks promising, only thing is your village keeps strict regulation on the black market and the Yakuza families that operate within its borders. So I want to enlist your help in getting my foot in the door,"

"That doesn't sound like a partnership, it sounds like I'm a pawn being used to further your goals and ambitions, don't make things sound better than it actually is to get me to agree," I said sharply. Josai chuckled.

"You know you have a sharp mind kid, your right I'm using you but you do owe me and my wife plus as I mentioned before I have a child on the way, so think of yourself being used for a good cause," Josai said.

"Tch, fuck you and your good cause, I'll do it simply because I don't like owing people anything, but don't forget Josai," I locked eyes with him. "I am a shinobi, cross me and I'll make sure you'll regret it," I said.

"Ohhh scary," Josai said as he tossed the scroll back to me.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I'd like to put my clothes on,"

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I entered the village's gates late that night. The only thing that could be heard was the wind whistling through the rocks. I quickly made my way to the Tsuchikage's tower to report back in and to do my mission statements. I walked up to the scout floor pushed open the doors, there were some who were filling out paperwork at the various tables but it wasn't a party in there. I walked up to the reception desk where a young girl was there to greet me. I kept my conversation short, turned the scrolls I intercepted from Ruji told her it was extremely important that they made it to the captain immediately. With that done I decided to leave and do my paperwork tomorrow because I just wasn't in the mood to sit and write for any length of time.

I exited the tower and began walking slowly with my hands stuffed in my pockets and my eyes staring at the stars the twinkled ever so slightly. Everything was beginning to soak in, I failed my first mission as a shinobi. Not only did I fail but four others are dead or at least that's what I'm assuming because I just wasn't good enough to support them properly. I was now carrying the weight of four souls on top of my own. My breath hitched in my throat as I felt a tear roll right down my cheek.

"Fucking worthless, that's what you are Yuudai," I said to myself.

I've never felt this upset at myself for failure. Hell, I know failure is a part of life, but why does this one sting more than the others? Why does this one hurt so bad? I didn't know them personally, and just like our system is designed they will be replaced easily without many people noticing.

So why damnit?! Why is this failure so hard to swallow?!

I dropped my head into my chest. I continued to walk the slow road home, maybe a good night's sleep in my own bed will do me well.

I hope.

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A/N: Suh dudes, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, posting is gonna be kinda erratic from here on out. Going to be in the process of moving so I may be able to squeeze in two more chapters before the move but please don't be upset with me if I can't. Thank you for taking the time out to read my work, all reviews and comments are welcomed and as always….until next time my friends.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

Shippuu: Hurricane

Hieijin: Flying shadow blade

Sentsuizan: Whirling crash slash

Tenshouzan: Ascension slash

Ittouryoudan: Single stroke Bisection

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The sun's light cut through my window causing me to wake up earlier than I wanted. I had only been asleep for no more than four hours at most seeing than I came home in the dead of night. I looked with squinted eyes towards my window to see a messenger bird perched outside my window, I slowly made my way over and let it inside and snagged the scroll it was carrying.

"Ugh, I have to go meet the captain and do paperwork all in one day. Oh, joy." I said with faux exuberance.

I went about my morning routine and cleaned up the house a bit seeing that both my parents hadn't been home for what looked like since I left for my mission, so three and a half weeks. I set out into the village moving through the civilians as they went about their day without worry or care, unlike them my soul was still heavy which translated into my body language I felt weighted down, oh how I envy the blissful ignorance of the civilians never aware of the hell we keep at bay, never having to sacrifice time with loved ones or with friends, and never having to think about death until it begins to come knocking.

'Remember you had a chance to be like them, you picked this path. Don't complain.' I reminded myself. I reached Tsuchikage's Tower and ascended the stairwell to the scout's floor and pushed through the doorway. There was a huge gathering of scouts sitting around in the front lounge room, all of whom looked very tense. In fact, the tension was so palpable in the air it felt like I was walking through it as I made my way to the reception desk. It was the same girl from earlier that morning, she stood up quickly as soon as she caught a glimpse of me.

"Take me to the captain," I told her. She nodded, left her post and began to escort me down a long hallway with doors on either side. There was a door at the end that was already cracked open, once we reached that door she lightly knocked on it.

"What is it?" came a strong commanding voice.

"I have brought Yuudai, as you've requested, taicho," she responded.

"Let him in,"

The girl stood off to the side allowing me to move past her. I entered the room and was shocked at the mess that was the captain's office. There were books thrown haphazardly around some opened some closed, there were papers and scrolls piled up on the large desk and even the couch that sat near the door wasn't safe as it too was covered with papers, maps, upturned books. The only thing that was decent about the room itself was the fact that the whole back wall was a huge window that looked directly at the waterfall that was on the backside of the village other than that this room was a complete disaster, if I were to keep my room like this my mother would kill me.

"So, it seems your not a complete wash as a shinobi hmm?"

My attention snapped to the captain who looked just as disheveled as the room she resided in.

"What do you mean by that Onee-san?"

"Onee-san?!"

"I mean, taicho," I said as I mentally kicked myself, this isn't home Yuudai!

My captain wasn't actually a member of my immediate family but she was a member of the clan and my caretaker when my mother and father had to go out on missions at the same time. Hisako-oneesan was the youngest captain in the scout's history at 18 years young. She was the best in her class in the academy and she shot through the shinobi ranks without much effort making chunin a year after graduation and then jonin at the age of 11. She was my mother's former student so she was around me a lot when I was little and to her, I was like the baby brother that she never had.

"What I mean is despite the fact you failed your mission you accomplished something within that failure," she said as he walked over to his desk and picked up the two scrolls. "This was some valuable information indeed. Have you read the contents within these?" she asked.

"I have not, I did not have time to do so, taicho," I said. She tossed the scrolls towards me and motioned me to open them and read their contents for myself.

'Lord Nifuji,

It has come to my attention that Iwa is planning a massive assault on your village. With this information in hand, I couldn't call myself your ally in this without sending some form of physical aid. I will be sending an advance party to you to assist your efforts against Iwagakure. They will arrive two weeks after this message has been sent out and verified that your party has successfully received this message.'

The Hokage's stamp seal was at the bottom which threw me off a bit. The last message we intercepted had his signature on it, why just a stamp? I put that scroll down and opened the next one.

'Lord Nifuji,

The squad I'm sending you will be lead by one of the best we could offer you, he's known as The White Fang of Konoha. He will support you and your men in your efforts to stave off Iwa and their imperialistic desires. We will send you even more aid in the form of intel from our spies within their ranks. Again I wish you the best for you and your land.'

Signed,

Hiruzen Sarutobi.

I was speechless, this was it. This right here was the smoking gun. The Third Great Shinobi World War, we were right at the start line. What was also very troubling wasthe the fact that we had been infiltrated by enemy shinobi who were passing information onto their village right under our noses.

"This means, war doesn't it?" I asked despite already knowing the answer. She simply nodded. "Why let me a genin, know about this?"

"You were the one who retrieved the information, I feel that the scout should at least know what's being done with the information they pass off, it's a way for me to keep you guys motivated to do your jobs," she said somberly. "You scared?"

"Petrified," I said. I was shaking at the future danger I would be putting myself in. the lives I'd watch get cut down right in front of me. Yes I was a war veteran but I'm not a machine, sure images of human disembowelment do not affect me like they once did, I don't get sick from the sight of bodies lying piled up on the battlefield, but, that doesn't mean my soul doesn't feel that pain.

I'm not a complete monster… not yet at least and I think that's what scared me the most. What would this war do to me? I felt like I was going to lose the last bit of humanity that I was desperately clinging on to. War does that to you whether you want it to or not, it eats away at your morals, makes you do things you never thought you were capable of doing, you become cold almost dead inside at least this was my experience I can't really speak for others. There were other problems that would come along as well that could seem almost impossible to overcome and it's why so many of my brothers in arms would commit suicide, because who would want to live like that? No, to some death is better than living in a never-ending internal hell.

"What are we going to do about the spies?" I asked.

"I already have a sneaking suspicion who they are and I will weed them out once the time comes, these things require timing in order to be effective," she said. "What I need from you is a report, I'm assuming the rest of your cell got wiped out seeing that you are the only one who returned. I need the grids of their last known location so we can retrieve and dispose of their bodies,"

"Hai, I will get that to you immediately," I said and turned to exit the room.

"Oh, by the way, Yuudai. Your mother isn't very happy with how your first mission went, fortunately for you she nor your father will be home tonight and I've been asked to tend to you until one of them is available to return home, look forward to my company," she said and took a seat behind her desk. "You're dismissed,"

I left and grab the paperwork needed to complete the mission report. I sat down at one of the open tables and began to write in the information asked of me in the blocks that they were required. Once completed I glanced up at the clock to see only an hour of my time had been wasted on this trivial matter, I organized the paperwork and the sheet with my cell's last known grid before we split caught my eye and I felt a slight pang of pain strike my heart.

"I'm sorry," I said whispered and put the last page together with the rest and turned it into the receptionist before leaving. I wasted no time returning back home to grab my sword and the scroll of techniques given to me and made a b-line for the Tsu's training grounds, I was still lacking in ability I should have been able to take Ruji's head but I failed it doesn't matter that we were ambushed. I reached the summit of the mountain the Tsu's training grounds rested and began to punish myself for my incompetence.

1,000 swings for each of them, 1,000 push-ups for each of them, 1,000 sprints for everyone on that cell you got killed. I began the torturous training session, time became a non-factor for me as I became lost in the physical pain and exhaustion I was putting myself through willingly. I wanted to atone in some way, any way possible, this pain that I was feeling just wouldn't go away.

'It's your fault' I said as I swung my sword. 'You're weak, worthless, an absolute waste of space'

I set my sights on a large boulder that sat off in the distance and sank down into my stance.

"Shippuuga!" I yelled and swung my sword as hard as I could towards the giant target releasing a shockwave that moved and twistedthe the clouds around me, when everything cleared I saw the results of my attack and just snapped. There was nothing but a long scratch on the face of the boulder, I sent another slash towards the target, then another and another.

"Just...A...Fucking...Scratch!" I screamed between swings. I continued my assault on the target pooling as much strength and anger that I could muster into each. I lost track of how many swings I took but if I had to take a guess based upon my labored breathing and how dizzy I was feeling it had to be well over ten swings in succession. The boulder that was once there had now crumbled into smaller pieces.

I almost lost my footing and used my blade to hold me up.

"Oh no you don't, you're going to endure this because when I fucking needed you to hold up just a bit longer you decided not to. So we are going to surpass that limit today! I'm sick of holding myself back, no from this day forward I'm reaching for greatness even if it kills me," I said to myself.

I continued to train past my limits, fighting against my body's pleas for a break. There reached a point that I couldn't feel much of anything anymore I was just doing. I didn't think only reacted to things I was imaging were there or throwing shuriken and kunai at the targets that were already placed up for throwing practice. I was trying to recreate in my mind the fight that would have taken place had I not ran, had I not been a coward if I had stood there and taken them head-on. I could feel my heart rate continue to accelerate as I went through this battle in my head, my arms were worn out from swinging my sword, my legs tired from the constant use without rest, but what I found was the pain from the use of my chakra had plateaued, It was now just a really deep dull pulse of pain I could feel all through my body it was manageable but finally I just couldn't take anymore and collapse. I lay there staring at the night sky before reaching into my pouch and pulling out the scroll with all my grandmother's sword techniques, I sat up and wiped the sweat from my brow before rolling the scroll open and reading through the different attacks.

First was Shippuu *, second was obviously Shippuuga, third was Hieijin*, fourth was Sentsuizan*, fifth was Tenshouzan*, and lastly was Ittouryoudan*.

I studied the Shippuu technique, it was a close-range variant of Shippuuga but the only difference was it relied on a mastery of movements due to the user having to move at an extremely inhuman speed to cut the target multiple times at close range, it was a way more deadly attack because the user had a better chance to hit vitals where Shippuuga was more of a shock attack to throw the enemy off at range creating an opportunity to attack at close range provided the user had the speed to take advantage of said situation.

I had that speed.

I readthe the drills one had to master in order to be able to use the technique in actual combat

and gradually got to my feet and set my sights on a straw dummy that was off in the distance. I made my way over to it and began the drills. Drill one was just movement and God did I feel stupid doing it if someone was to see me it would literally look like I was dancing circles around this dummy but I continued and slowly began to pick up the pace.

Faster…. Faster…. Faster…. Faster!

The dummy started to become a blur as I moved. The only time it became visible was when I would plant my foot to stop and change directions to the next step in the drill which I quickly realized was by design. These steps all twelve were connected to the strikes that would be used and the steps made you shift your body just enough that you had to slow down for a split second before rocketing to the next step in the sequence. This kept you from getting disoriented and losing track of the target, which was easy to do when moving at these speeds. The last step was behind the opponent facing away.

Heh, guess my grandmother was very confident in this technique's kill rate.

"Yuu-kun!" I turned my head towards the voice that used my shorten nickname and saw Hisako standing at the entrance to the grounds. "How much longer do you plan on being up here? It's late and you need to eat," she said.

"I'm fine, I just got up here," I said and turned back to the dummy to continue the movement drill. I felt a slight breeze and I was snatched up off my feet.

"My, my, since when did my baby brother become so rebellious?"

"Put me down onee-san, I'm not hungry," I said. Despite my words, I knew there was nothing I could do to stop her from doing whatever she wanted with me. I wasn't even a threat to her physically she could subdue me in an instant and not even break a sweat.

"Ok," she said as she placed me back on my feet. "Let's make a bet if you can land one attack on me I'll let you stay here. However, should you fail you will come home and eat, I'll even be generous and give you five minutes to pull off this feat, what do you say?"

I looked into Hisako's playful eyes, she knew just as well as I did the odds were in her favor.

"Fine, I'll come to eat," I huffed.

"Awww, your no fun Yuu-kun" she pouted. I pushed past her towards the entrance of the grounds to head home. I looked up at the evening sky and only then did it dawn on me that I've been up here for more than a few hours, unfortunately, I didn't feel like I accomplished much of anything other than tiring myself out. Compared to Aoi I wasn't even in the same league and it irritated me, if only I hadn't used that jutsu then maybe I would have been able to help my cell out better. We made it back to my house and the aroma of food hit my nose hard, the spices that were filling the air tipped me off to what was on the menu.

"Curry huh?" I said.

"Correct, your favorite if I remember," That it was, well honestly I liked eggs more than anything but in terms of a full meal curry was at the top of the list. I walked into the dining room and leaned my katana on the table before sitting down. Hisako quickly brought out two plates of curry and sat on in front of me for heading across and setting her own plate down and taking a seat. The sight of the meal in front of me reminded me that I hadn't eaten all day and my stomach began to growl loudly.

"Thanks for the meal," I said before digging in. I began to inhale the food in front of me only giving myself a slight moment to breath between bites.

"Hey, slow down it's not going to run away from you," Hisako said with a laugh. I stopped and finished the mouthful I had shoved in.

"I know I just didn't know how hungry I was," I said.

"Well, of course, you were probably up there since you left HQ if I had to bet, you work yourself too hard Yuu-kun,"

"How do you know how hard I work? We haven't been around each other like this in a while," I said as I scooped another mouthful in.

"You think I didn't keep tabs on you when you were in the academy? You were going to become a scout so as the captain I needed to know whom I was getting out of the academy so I could adjust things accordingly. From what I was told you would skip meals and only sleep for maybe 4 hours a day if you weren't in class you were in the training grounds or in the library with a stack of books and notes studying,"

Ah, I do remember that, but that was only because I wanted to win the best of class tournament. Before my first mission, I did it so I could survive, but now I see how selfish of a motive that was.

"I want to be strong, is that so bad?" I asked.

"No it's not bad, but the way you're going about it is going to burn your body out a lot faster than you think, plus your plenty strong now as it is,"

That's a lie and both of us knew it. There was a small part of me that wanted to believe her statement, but I knew she was just trying to make me feel better about myself. I think she could sense that something was off about me.

"Hisako-oneesan, I want to ask a favor," I said. She paused and gave me a nod to continue. "Let me go and dispose of the bodies of my cell members,"

"No, you can't. I know you all too well Yuu-kun, what you are really trying to see is if you can go and track Ruji down again aren't you?" I kept silent as she finished clearing the table, she did know me very well. "You'll be kept here in the village for a while, until I'm confident you won't go rogue on me or the next cell you are placed in due to a grudge you're holding, this is also a part of being a shinobi; letting the weight of death go and moving on. You're not the first person to lose cell members or be the only survivor and you won't be the last,"

"But it doesn't sit right with me!" I exclaimed. "I ran and let them di-"

The sound of plates crashing to the floor and utensils clanging of the table was heard. Hisako was gripping my collar with both hands tightly. I could see her shoulders shake vigorously as they supported all my weight on them, but then Hisako looked up and I saw the tear streak on her cheek.

"You think you're the only one who feels bad?! The fucking world doesn't revolve around you! So quit being a crybaby about something you couldn't control base on what was physically impossible for you!" she yelled as she shook me back and forth. "I lost a good friend on that mission, she was my junior but I still saw her as an equal and now she's gone, but we got something out of it something that will help save lives, and my baby brother is still alive even though I thought for sure you would have died out there too. So stop trying to carry a burden you don't have to, I'm sure you didn't abandon them they told you to leave so you could have a chance to live however small it was, that's what senpais do for their kouhais they protect them. You'll understand when you are someone's senpai one day,"

Hisako dropped me back in my chair and walked out without saying another word. Those words she spoke really hit me I had to force my tears back and try to swallow the lump that formed in my throat. I snatched my sword up and bolted out of the house, I had a technique to master by morning.

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The chirping of birds snapped me out of my musings. I still remember that day as if it was just yesterday. I never thanked Hisako-oneesan for those words she spoke to me and I don't think she knew I needed to hear them…. Or maybe she did but it was thanks to her I stop using my handicaps and failures as an excuse to continue in my self-loathing.

I sat perched in a tree as the sun rose. The enemy had been quiet these past few days on this front. We had fought hard the last few weeks to push them this far back and I wasn't going to concede any ground that my fellow shinobi died for. I checked my traps an hour ago and there were no signs of tampering or footprints, but I knew it was only a matter of time before they would try another push. I felt out for my allies to see how much they shifted security due to the sun's rising. I reached into my pouch and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, I have to thank my uncle later, these were the only thing that was helping me keep my nerves in check these past few months that I've been on the frontlines. I pulled one out and placed it between my lips, I pooled a bit of chakra into my fingertips and heated it. I snapped my fingers which caused a spark and lit the tip of the stick. I inhaled softly then exhaled the smoke. I felt my whole body relax as I repeated the previous action a few more times.

"Ahhhh, I forgot how boring war can be," I said as I blew out another round of smoke. I hate war movies because they never show how actually boring it is, I've literally been sitting up in this tree for the last seven day just waiting. The battles only last a few hours at most because the other side will retreat once they've sustained too many casualties and then the wait begins once again. War was like chess or shogi slow and methodical with only moments of chaos thrown in between, I took one last drag off the cigarette and stubbed it out on the branch below me before flicking the butt away. At that moment I heard the groan of a man and the sound of kunai piercing flesh and a wicked smile crept on my face.

They're here.

I whistled and tune and receive the confirmation tune back, I gripped my katana and pushed off the branch towards the trap I laid. I felt the faint chakra of the person ensnared in my elaborate trap now I just need one of them to-

The sound of explosions rang throughout the forest, and black smoke began to bellow from the area where my trap was laid. I picked up the pace and flew into the smoke and using nothing but my sense of hearing located my targets. I drew my blade and sliced through one I moved quickly to the next and then the other, I pierced the last one before a gust of wind blew the smoke away. I peeked over the body to see at least thirty leaf shinobi in front of me, I pushed the body off my sword and flung the blood off my blade making a red crescent shape in front of me. I could feel my comrades behind me and I rested the back of my blade on my shoulder.

"Back for more eh?! Well, allow us of 1st expeditionary company show you some Land of Earth hospitality….. I hope your wills have been written!" I yelled and charged my enemies head on.

Another battle ensued and with it, a chapter of the Third Great Shinobi War was written with the blood of the fallen.

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A/N: So begins the Third Great Shinobi War arc. This will be a very long arc so strap yourselves in for the long haul. I'm REALLY EXCITED to write this part of the story. Sorry for the slow update. As always thanks for reading my work and review if you want…. Until next time my friends.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17

ACP: Acess Control Point

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I flew through the trees with my the remaining members of my company who survived the latest clash with the enemy. We were pushed back due to the reinforcements that arrived and turned the tide of the battle, we suffered heavy casualties at least a 45% loss which pissed me off. It was the first loss we as a company suffered and it was the first retreat we made in front of the enemy. As we crossed friendly lines I slowed the pace so that those who were lagging behind with some of our casualties could catch up, we weren't too far off from one of our forward operations posts we established with the 2nd Expeditionary Company and the medical company who were attached to us. I pushed out of the woods and directly in front of was a large canyon.

"They've caught up with us Yuudai!" someone yelled behind me. I stopped on a dime and turned back towards the direction we came from.

"Keep going towards the base I'll catch up in a bit, make sure the wounded get treatment immediately," I said. The others flew past me as I pulledmy out my katana and made a half seal.

"Twin Phantasm," I spoke the words softly and felt a strong jolt of pain before my shadow was standing at my side, I readied myself and flowed chakra into my blade. "May thou souls find peace in the afterlife," I said as they reached the edge of the forest. "Shippuuga!"

The ones who were first to exit the woods were shredded flinging limbs and blood everywhere. The others followed without regard for their fallen comrades within that moment and continued pushing towards me, some threw shuriken and kunai which I weaved in and out of before I realized someone was above me and set the sky ablaze with fire heading straight for me. In that same moment two more appeared at my flanks ready to receive me should I try to retreat from the fire, I rocketed to my right and headed straight for the enemy waiting for me. He readied his kunai but his body language showed a defensive posture, I fainted a swing and he reacted and opened his chest up and in that same second I repositioned my sword and plunged it into his heart. Immediately kicked him away and brought my shadow behind me to stop his friend's attack which I then turned with as much force as I could muster and lobbed his head off his shoulders. Blood gushed out like a blown pipe and I pushed away to avoid being completely drenched in it.

I could feel more signatures heading right for me but I also knew I bought enough time for my allies so it was time for me to make my grand escape. I sheath my sword and flew through hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth's Shell," I said and the earth rose around me and formed a dome around me. I flew through another set of seals and slammed my hand to the ground below me. "Earth Release: Mobile Earth Core," A section of the earth beneath me shot down like an elevator till I stopped it and then opened a hole to the left of me which would lead me to the base. I closed the path behind me to ensure I wouldn't be followed and quickly made my way back to safety. My body felt weak but I pushed on and broke through a wall inside the cave where our base was located. This freaked out the people who were currently residing in the room which from what I could tell was the infirmary.

"Goddamnit Yuudai, how many times do I have to tell you to stop busting through the walls! We have ACPs* for a fucking reason!" came an angry voice. I looked up to see one of the platoon leaders of the medics standing over me, I stood up and dusted off my shoulders and pushed past him. "Are you listening to me?!" he yelled.

"God you're annoying, I know why we have ACPs the situation, however, made me use a different route to our base wouldn't be compromised, or would you have rathered I bought the enemy right to our front door and get us all slaughtered?" I asked condescendingly. "You do realize that we are the most forward force right now should they figure out where we are exactly we're dead right?" at that he pursed his lips into a hard line. "So stop trying to lecture me, I don't want to hear shit from someone who isn't out on the frontlines with me,"

"Why you insolent-"

"Enough!" came a booming voice. I turned and when my eyes made contact I snapped to attention. It was Aoi's mother Noriko captain of the 8th medical support company. "We've got dying shinobi waiting on treatment and here you two idiots are bickering like damn children hurry the hell up and start helping instead of running your fucking mouths!" she yelled.

People began to move with haste to separate the wounded by urgency and assist the medics with what they could. I left to ensure security was still emplaced properly and that the lookouts were still awake. I came upon lookout post #4 which had a bit of light shining into it thanks to the opening that was up ahead of it. I saw a body slumped over off to the right of the tunnel and approach it. As I got closer I recognized the person as a member of my squad that I left back to pull guard. I pulled out my katana and placed it right next to her carotid artery.

"Wake up Jun," I said. She stirred and her eyes fluttered open and when her eyes met mines she flinched and all the color drain from her face. "Sleeping on watch hmmm?"

"N-no Yuudai-senpai," she said softly.

"Now we're lying to our squad leader? You do realize that falling asleep while on a watch is a crime punishable by death right?" I could see the fear fill her hazel eyes as they kept darting from my face to my blade that sat right at her neck. "So I'll give you one chance to tell me the truth, were you asleep on watch and if so why? You got ten seconds," I said. She was quiet at first and her lower lip trembled before long her whole body began to tremble. I pulled my sword back and put it away before I squatted in front of her. "Look at me Jun," she slowly did so but she avoided eye contact with me. I could see her eyes were red meaning she had been here longer than she was supposed to be. "When were you suppose get relieved?"

"Twelve hours ago senpai," she said softly. I let out a breath, someone either screwed with the shifts or just decided not to show up and left Jun here twelve hours past the end of her shift. A hint of red on her forehead just above her eyebrow caught my attention and I brushed her brown hair out of the way to reveal a cut. Jun just graduated the academy and this was her first deployment with us and I know she hadn't seen any combat yet so this cut was done by someone here.

"Who hit you?" I asked. Her head dropped and she looked away.

"Nobody h-hit me senpai I was just clumsy on my way-" I grabbed her face by the cheeks and forced her to look at me.

"Who was it?" I said in a low tone.

"Leon-senpai, he was the one who hit me because I tried to get someone to replace me," she said softly again. I let her go and stood up.

"Jun get up and go to sleep, that's an order, hurry up," I said. She wasted no time as she scrambled away from me and I slowly followed after her, guess post #4 just won't have a guard until Leon-senpai gets someone else up there but I was not going to allow one of my subordinates to be abused out of convenience. I walked back into the main cave where the majority of the two companies decide to hang out, the base itself was dug into one of the mountains inside of a mountain range. We had tunnels that ran from one mountain to another for escape purposes as well as tunnels that ran to different fronts. We fought kinda as the Viet Cong did in Vietnam but we would stand in front of our enemies and fight to the bitter end if necessary but really it never got to that point because the war was only a year old, supply routes and foot traffic routes were constantly changing nothing was concrete yet. Konoha was doing all it could to keep us from advancing too far into Grass country, but what wasn't helping us was the fact that we were still dealing with Haze country on top of battling Konoha. It was two front war which split our army and stretched our manpower to its limits. The only thing that was saving our asses on the Grass front was the fact that the Executioner Forces and the two Jinchuriki were on the Haze front and were slowly killing their will to keep fighting. I almost felt sorry for them having to deal with nine squads full of insane people and two actual monsters, then again fuck em' kill the whole village off for all I cared I still had nine more years of this hell to live through not to mention the other villages haven't gotten involved just yet, and I don't know the triggers for what will draw them in.

I walked back into the infirmary and it was still pure chaos, people were running around rummaging through bags, grabbing the tape, gauze, bandages, needles. The room smelled of blood and was filled with screams of pain and agony as well as yelling from Noriko to her platoon leaders about who needed what and who was a lost cause.

"No! Stop what are you doing with my brother!?" came a cry from a young man.

"He's a goner there's nothing we can do for him! Move!" said one of the medics as he tried to shove past him but the man stayed blocking his path.

"You're not gettin' past me not until you save my brother! He's still breathing so I know there's something you can do for him still!"

Two more medics came and snagged the man up and dragged him away kicking and screaming for his brother while the medic took the body in his hands down what we call 'The Death Tunnel' so the body could be properly disposed of. This was our reality, death was real, not some abstract idea, for us it was real because we see it day in and day out. Another son, brother, nephew, is dead and there is nothing none of us can do about it other than keep fighting for his sake and the others who have also fallen in this past year. I looked over at the young man crying his eyes out over the death of his brother and nobody was trying to comfort him at all, they moved away from him because he was disturbing them with his crying.

It's not their family so why should they care?

"Yuudai! Captain wants to see you!" came a random voice I couldn't locate. Without answering my body moved towards the young man still crying his face in his knees, his body shaking with sorrow. I wanted to say something to him but I kept walking, what was I to say that wouldn't have put him off even more than he already was? I'm not good with that kind of stuff anyway, let someone whos more adept in that area of human communication handle that. I entered a tunnel that seemed to wrap around the main cave upwards, the tunnel began to widen out and a piece of cloth hung over the entrance. I pushed the cloth away and entered a room where four people were residing, the room itself was just big enough to where they weren't cramped in there however with me now in the room it felt small. My captain was looking at me with a very serious look the complete opposite look my playful female vice-captain was giving.

"You sent for me taicho?" I asked as I bowed out of respect.

"Yes I've just gotten word from general Hisako that you're being reassigned as of tomorrow, pack your things, I'll have a grid for you tonight,"

"Did she say what company?" I asked.

"No, she just said your skills are needed elsewhere and that she would compensate me properly with the personnel she will send me in exchange for you, you're dismissed,"

I bowed and exited the room quickly. My skills were needed elsewhere? What place was better than here on the frontlines it's not like I had any support skills other than information gathering, and I shivered at the idea of being placed in an intel company. I'd go rogue, if that were to happen, I've had to work with people who specialize in info gathering and just got a weird vibe from them. I walked back through the main cave and then down into a tunnel that leads to my squad's sleep area. I stepped over a few sleeping bodies so I could reach my area to clean up and get ready to move tonight. As I approached my gear I noticed someone using my pack as a pillow.

"Jun?" I said questioningly.

"She's been like that for about 20 minutes now," came a voice from my left. I turned to see Hugo or who we loving call "old man Hue," internally in the squad sitting quietly sharpening a kunai.

"Well I'm going to have to wake her up, I have to get my pack ready to leave," I said.

"Mission?" he asked.

"No, reassignment,"

"Ohhh, little missy isn't going to be too happy about her beloved senpai leaving her all alone," he said. I sat down near my pack and Jun's sleeping form and watched her peaceful face as she slept. She was just about my age when I became a shinobi, so young and innocent she shouldn't be here with savages like myself whose only purpose in life is killing. I let out a breath.

"There isn't much I can do about, my general is pulling me back, I don't want to leave either. I belong out here, I want to at least finish this deployment with you guys," I said. Hugo just chuckled as he slid his kunai up on the whetstone and then back down.

"You know Yuudai, sometimes it's best if you go down a different path so you don't stagnate your development and in the last year has been something I've only seen few times in my life. You must move on from this it's your time, don't worry about us we'll be fine, but at least say goodbye to her before you go,"

I returned my gaze to Jun's sleeping face, I would like to say goodbye properly but I just didn't have the time. I looked down at the steel gauntlets I had made just for this deployment, I unhooked the bindings that encompassed my forearms and slid them off.

"Could you give these to her, and tell her that her senpai is sorry I couldn't give her a proper goodbye," I passed the gauntlets over to Hugo. "Also let her know that I expect her to take my place as squad leader one day that's how much I believe in her ability,"

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I returned to the village under the cover of night, the wind was gusting throughout the land creating the only sound in the area. Everyone minus those on guard and probably some higher ranking shinobi were asleep. I quickly made my way to the Tsuchikage tower and proceeded to go downstairs, once at the bottom I was greeted by two shinobi who were standing guard over the two large steel doors.

"State you're information," said one guard.

"Akamu Yuudai, genin, shinobi ID# 8876900," I recited.

"The sage leaves behind two children," Came the other guard with the challenge. Today's number password was…..4.

"And those two will give birth to four feuding generations," I responded. The guards moved away from the door to allow me to enter. I slid the doors open and continued down the spiral stairs that was only illuminated by torches and the further I journeyed the colder it seemed to get until I felt a wave of heat hit my body and another set of double doors appeared at the base of the stairs. I looked up at the nearly invisible vent that was peeking out of the Earth which gave me my explanation as to why the area around me got hot all of a sudden. I shouldn't have been surprised I mean this is the Yama clan we are talking about here and they were engineering masterminds. The whole reason this mountain range is even inhabitable is because of them. I broke out of my musings and slid the doors open and walked through shutting them behind me. I could see into the chamber ahead of me there was a large table and a few figures sitting around it. I walked through the little connector and entered the village's war room. On the table was a giant world map with pieces sitting in similar spots that our forces were currently located. The symbol of Earth country was plastered on a giant banner that hung in the back behind some chairs, where some old men wrapped in robes with their faces covered along with the Tsuchikage, I assumed them to be the elders who secretly run the village and probably were the ones behind all this bloodshed, to begin with.

In front of the banner and down near the table sat all the generals with the major general sitting in the middle. There were aids off in different parts of the room attending to tasks what those tasks were I had no idea but judging by the pace they were passing off information to each other they must have been important.

"Ah! Yuudai," came Hisako's voice as my presence was finally acknowledged.

"My boy, how have you been?" my father asked. "Hopefully you've been out there showing the Leaf no mercy,"

I bowed slightly. "I would not even dream of showing such a thing to the enemies of my village," I said.

"Good! I also heard that you've almost collected enough merits to get promoted,"

That I actually didn't know, Iwa's promotion system was way different from the system all the other villages seemed to have especially during wartime, it was a two-tier system one for the branch families and one for the main houses. The main houses had the easiest path to promotion because theirs were based off time as a shinobi and missions completed and once they hit their requirements to be promoted they have to take a written test as well as a combat/ tactics test, the branch families, however, was merit-based and earning merit wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination. Merit was earned by the number of enemies killed and high-value targets killed as well as time spent on the front lines, but this was only during wartime in times of peace it was based off how many missions you completed successfully and if you happened to kill someone in the Iwa bingo book well kudos to you, you'll get double the merit put on your records. The amount of merit needed to get promoted was also high as well just to make it to chunin you needed 300 merit points, missions were only worth 5 points each, kills were only worth 1 because it was easy to lie or forget how many people you've slain, High-value targets were worth 20-50 all depends on how high they were on the bingo book, and finally combat time was worth 15 points for every month spent in a combat zone. This system, however, was another factor that drove the wedge between the main houses and the branch houses even further, this was just simply unfair one side gets handed promotion and positions of power without ever earning them, the other side has to slave, grind, and ultimately risk their lives to get promoted just to get told what to do by someone with not even half the combat experience or miss a promotion just watch the main house member get it without having to do anything other than keep breathing. This has lead to a lot of resentment and malice and sure it's not talked about but I could feel it within my own squad when my old squad leader was still alive. It was another reason why Hugo had been stuck at genin for so long I mean he might get promoted now due to the war but during peacetime, you can forget about it, unless you slave, and bleed for the village.

"I haven't been keeping track, but if I have I am honored that I have done so much for my village," I said. Hisako cleared her throat bringing the attention back to her.

"I'm sure you two would love to continue this conversation seeing that Yuudai has been on the frontlines for the last year or so, but I have an important mission for him," Hisako said as she stood up and walked around the table heading to my left and stopped right where our border was between us and Haze country. "I'm sure you'll be happy to hear this, currently the Executioner Forces have been squeezing the Haze tighter and tighter and right now have them caught between them and their village. They are trapped like rats with nowhere to go, so we have been given the green light to lay siege to their last fortress, and I'm sending you to be a part of it, you will be with the forward most company who will hit them first,"

"What will be the rules of engagement? I just want to make sure so I don't do something I'm not supposed to,"

Hisako just chuckled.

"What rules of engagement? You are going to slaughter them, we are wiping the Hidden Haze Village off the face of the map, you kill everything that breathes leave nothing behind but ruins do I make myself clear?" she asked.

Her words made my heart jump in my chest, and a smile crept on to my face. Finally, I was going to get them to pay for my senpai's deaths in blood and lots of it. I didn't care that I was just ordered to kill innocent people all I wanted was to avenge the lives of those four and I was going to just that, Humanity be damned.

"As you wish, general," I said with a bow. "What will be the timeline for the assault?" I asked.

"Two days, go rest and be ready to leave first thing tomorrow night,"

I bowed and turned to take my leave, I felt a strong hand rest on my shoulders stopping me in place.

"Come with me," my father said as he began to walk towards another hallway off to the left of the table. We walked about halfway down the hall before my dad stop and leaned against the right side of the hall. "You doing alright out there?" he asked.

"Oh just swell," I said jokingly as I dropped my pack. "Can't complain I asked to live this life, I can't run away from it. How's mom doing?" I asked.

"She fine, said hopefully after this raid she'll be able to come home, it's been a while hasn't it?"

I scoffed. That's an understatement.

"Well a 'while' is putting it mildly," I said. "I haven't seen her since I was released from the hospital almost two years ago, I don't think she'll even recognize me,"

"You don't believe that, do you? Yeah you've gotten taller and you have a few new scars but you're still her son, it just the nature of the Executioner forces, they stay on mission,"

"You honestly expect me to just take that answer? Look oyaji you don't have to explain anything to me ok? I get it you're both very busy with you being a general and her being a captain in the force, yes I know it childish but I would like to see the faces of my parents a bit more, seeing that I could die any day out there," I said as I picked up my pack. "If you need me I'll be in my room, just knock," I began to walk back towards the war room.

"Yuudai," came my father's voice from behind me. I stopped in place but I didn't turn to face him.

"Yes, oyaji?" I said.

"Just know your mother and I are extremely proud of you, and we love you,"

Those words sent a jolt down my spine. God, human emotions are so hard to deal with and control. I turned my head and looked over my left shoulder and flashed my dad a smile.

"Thanks, love you too oyaji,"

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I stood in front of four tombstones a lit cigarette sitting on the one that read 'Manabu'. The others read 'Junko', 'Eiji', and 'Ayumi'. I pulled another cigarette out and snapped my fingers to light it. I took a drag and blew the smoke above me. I would come here and visit their graves every time before I went out on a mission or when the war started before deployment. At first, it was to grieve a bit then it became a ritual, it was like I could feel their presence and it comforted me before I would head out into the cold cruel world. I took another drag and blew it out slowly.

"I hope my senpais have been resting peacefully, I know I haven't been here in a while but such is the nature of war. I've gotten a bit bigger and lot stronger since my last visit, I wish you were here Junko-senpai so I could show you personally," I said before taking another drag. "I've been doing my best to stay out of trouble and I try to set a good example for my juniors like you guys did for me. The war is entering its second year and well a lot of people have died already, some were members of my family, others I didn't know very well but I still cared for them because they were in my company or squad." I placed the stick between my lips and looked up at the evening sky. "It's really unfortunate that so many lives are being lost over a grudge between nations, but whatever all I can do is continue doing what I've been doing," I took one last drag before throwing it to the ground. I stood up and stomped on the stick to put out the flame and watched as the flame sitting on Manabu's grave went out at the same time almost like here was right there watching and maybe he was. "Well I gotta go, I'm going to avenge you guys, so sleep peacefully senpais, I'll come to visit again when I get back,"

I said as I turned away to exit the graveyard.

I linked up with the rest of the raid force at the gates of the village, well due to the sheer number of people there it was more like the courtyard that leads to the gates that's how far back I was. I decided to hang out in the back seeing that there was nobody accounting for who was supposed to be here and who wasn't yet it was just one big clusterfuck of people. Thank god artillery didn't exist in this world because we were just one giant target.

"Well well, look who it is," a voice said from behind me that I recognized immediately.

"What can I do for you Keita-sama," I said as I turned my head over my shoulder to make eye contact with him. He wasn't alone either Jin and Ryojin were with him. I instantly felt the animosity Ryojin was projecting towards me but I ignored it I've felt much worse vibes from people in the last year than that childish vibe.

"I thought we brought our best, but here you are," Keita said with an annoying smirk. "It must be because of your relationship with your general or because of your father,"

"Please don't insult me, you have way more connections than I do, I wonder just how you all got on this mission. I have yet to see you on the front lines, don't tell me you're letting someone two years your junior out do you," I shot back.

"You talk like you've been living out there with real shinobi," he responded. "It's not good to talk big just to cover up your lack of experience,"

My, my, how ignorant can one person be.

"Keita, Yuudai has more combat experience than all three of us together, he's been deployed twice with the 1st Expeditionary company and once with the 8th forward observation company all in the past year, we haven't deployed yet, I believe this has been your first time home since the war started, correct?" Jin asked.

"Correct Jin-sama," I said.

"Good to see you're still alive Yuudai," he said with a smile. I gave him a grunt and a nod but I refused to return that smile. I didn't know why he was being all friendly now but I wasn't going to fall for whatever plot he had up his sleeve. I looked at Keita and Ryojin who both wasn't looking so haughty after my deployments were made known to them.

"Yuudai! Jin! Where the hell are you!" came Hisako's booming voice. I turned back to Keita and Ryojin and shot them the biggest shit-eating grin I could make.

"Try not to spend the whole raid in the rear with the higher-ups, come play upfront where the real shinobi will be, that is if you got the guts," I said and was completely satisfied with the pissed off look I left on his face. "Have a good evening Keita-sama," I walked away Jin following behind me. Looks like tonight will be an interesting night indeed.

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A/N: I was going to put the raid in this chapter but decided against it. Review if you are inclined to do so, thanks for reading once again and as always…...until next time my friends.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

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I sat atop a cliff casually swinging my legs my arms locked behind me supporting my weight beneath me tucked in the valley was the Hidden Haze Village. We and by we I mean the scouts had already gone through the systematic hunting down and quietly disposing of all forward sentries and guards that would have alerted the village of our presence and thus take away the element of surprise. My current orders were to simply observe the village and wait for the rest of the force to get to my location, should the Haze become suspicious and send people to investigate the lack of reports coming from guards or replacements are sent to those post we are to kill them as quickly and quietly as possible. Needless to say, it was quite the tense situation but I felt no anxiety or nervousness just this eerily calm feeling because I fully accepted two things; my fate, and my actions.

I knew what I was about to partake in was absolutely inexcusable, the outright slaughtering of the enemy was one thing but the killing of innocent life was well immoral, and my soul was pleading with me this whole time to turn away from this metaphorical cliff I was tethering on because if I did this I'd be throwing away the last bit of humanity I had left. I would become that which I always feared, a demon wearing human flesh whose only purpose is to kill and destroy those around it. I let out a sigh.

"My, my restless aren't we?" came Jin's voice from behind me.

"A bit, what are you doing this far forward Jin-sama?" I asked unmoving from my position.

"Just wanted to see our target, this is my first time outside the country," he said as he moved next to me and took a seat to my right.

"Oh, really well then welcome to the ugly place known as the shinobi world," I said with a huff.

"You're so cynical Yuudai,"

"No, I'm honest,"

Jin let out a laugh before returning his gaze back to the village, I brought one of my legs in so I could use it as a stand so I could prop my head using my right hand.

"Is this really what war is like?" Jin asked.

"90% of the time, yes, you'll spend more time playing games in your head to stay awake as you wait for your enemy to show themselves than you will actually be fighting them, I mean it's a little more exciting for us scouts though," I said my gaze unbreaking from a particular spot within the village where I was seeing movement. I sat still for a second and focused on the chakra of whatever it was moving before determining it wasn't a threat. As relaxed as I felt my mind constantly analyzing my surroundings which I hated, I never got a chance to rest my instincts and even when I wasn't in imminent danger I was constantly looking for it. Like the gazelle looking for the lion, I was looking for my next enemy and mentally this messes with you, you'll perceive dangers that aren't there and the waiting around that war has you doing plays a big role in that. Anticipation heightens your natural senses, left in this state for too long and like all things it develops into a disorder.

What a lot of people don't know, this is the beginnings of PTSD, sure the traumatic incident will trigger it and the symptoms however the stress put on one's psyche to stay in a heightened state of alertness is overlooked in my opinion. I reached into my pouch and pulled out my medicine for my overstimulated senses, Jin watched me intently as I plucked a stick out of the pack and lit it with a snap of my fingers.

"How'd you get that? You're not old enough to buy cigarettes,"

"But I'm old enough to kill people for the village? Spare me the lecture Jin-sama," I said as I took a drag. "As you said I haven't been home in a year, so I picked up some bad habits to help me cope with my messed up nerves,"

"Is it that bad? That you have to resort to destroying your body like that," he asked flatly. I took another drag and held it in for a second before blowing it all out.

"Damn straight," I said simply. "You figure out why in a bit,"

I sucked down the cancer stick and stubbed out the flame, I could feel the rest of the force approaching our location, it was time to begin the raid. I stood up and jumped off the cliff I sliced through the air without much resistance until I widen out my arms so the drag could slow me down before I landed. I literally hit the ground running towards the Haze village and pulled my katana from its sheath as I closed the distance prepared to be intercepted at a second's notice. A large shadow passed above me forcing my attention upwards to see a gigantic boulder sailing through the sky, it impacted some buildings way off to my right which wasn't my area of responsibility so I focused my attention back to my front. I jumped once I got close to their walls and began sprinting up, jumping to clear the last bit of the obstacle I landed in between two guards who were distracted by the boulder that slammed into walls earlier. I caught a glimpse of one guard's face in complete shock as to my being there and then I swung my blade slicing her stomach open and blood came spewing out coating my face and arms. Her ally tried to take my life from behind but I had just enough time to make my half seal.

"Dark Hold," I muttered and time froze and in that second I turned with my blade and sliced through his neck. A second later the jutsu broke and his head went flying over the walls and more blood coated my face and front of my uniform. There was chaos everywhere random jutsu of all elements were being used, a corner of the village was already ablaze the clanging and clashing of various weapons echoed through the air. I quickly jumped onto the roof of a building nearest to me and was immediately intercepted by a young shinobi who looked like he was around my age.

"You're not going a step further!" he yelled at me. I looked intently at the boy and could see his body quivering as he held his kunai in front of him ready to receive whatever attack I was going to launch at him. His eyes, however, was what struck me there was a conviction in them he truly was going to try and stop me right here even if it meant death. I charged at the boy and loaded chakra in my legs once I got into his airspace. He went to cut my shoulder or something within that vicinity and I disappeared, I cut his side, then his back, next an arm went flying, a cut to the chest, then the thigh, I finished the last six cuts and stopped behind him and flung the blood from my blade. It was like the world went silent and all I could hear was the thud of his body hitting the ground.

"Akamu sword art #1: Shippu," I said as I took off to make my way towards the center of their village. From the rooftops, I spotted Jin who had dispatched a fair number of enemies but was currently trying to deal with four who decided he had to die. I stopped my momentum and changed course towards him to help out a bit. I hit the ground in between him and our opponents.

"Need a hand, Jin-sama?" I asked without taking my eyes off the enemy.

"Sure, you get two and I'll take the other two," He said as chains with two sharp barbed needles began to wind back up into his sleeves, which I found to be rather interesting. I loaded my stance and pushed chakra into my sword, just as I was about to use Shippuuga a flash of brown and red stopped me a bright flash followed by a loud and thunderous bang. The heat from the blast was unbearable causing me to immediately create some distance from the epicenter.

"Hmph, you guys are slacking," came Keita's voice through the smoke. The charred bodies of the four men laid sprawled out and lifeless behind him. "Well, what do you guys think of my new technique hmmm?" he asked with a smirk of pride. I moved with inhuman speed and cut down the shinobi that appeared behind him during his boasting.

"I'd be more impressed if you were able to boast and fight at the same time," I said over my shoulder. I felt a few more signatures moving into our location and readied myself for them until Ryojin's large frame landed in front of me. He reared his arm back and I could see sparks begin to fly from his fist before he charged the incoming shinobi. With one leap he covered the rest of the distance between them and slammed his fist to the ground releasing all the chakra, sending a lighting shockwave towards the enemy. The backblast began rocking the entire area to its foundations, the earth split like a cracked egg shell and the buildings around us began to visibly wobble. I quickly retreated to a safer location atop a building a few blocks down, Jin appeared next to me with Keita in tow a few seconds later.

"Damn monster, I told him he needs to chill when he uses that Jutsu," Keita mumbled. "He could have killed us,"

I quickly scanned our surroundings for any more shinobi that could possibly be heading for us. Once I made sure the coast was clear, I reached into my pouch and pulled out a rag and began to wipe the blood from my face and hands, once I was relatively clean I placed the rag back into my pouch and rested the back of my blade on my right shoulder and began to walk towards the edge of the building.

"Where do you think you're going Yuudai? Our area has been cleared," Jin said from behind me.

"It has but I need to find someone," I said. "Don't follow me, you heirs need to fall back so you don't get yourselves killed,"

Keita quickly entered my space and snatched me around to face him, his face mere inches from mine however due to the height difference I was looking slightly down to look him in his eyes that were filled with rage.

"Who the hell you think you are?! Huh?! Have you forgotten your place?! You don't tell us what to do!"

I sucked my teeth at his complete arrogance. He obviously wasn't paying any attention to the enemies we fought up to this point, they were all low-level grunts. Some were kids our age others just normal people who became shinobi because it put them higher on the social ladder, but I could tell they had no conviction except for that boy I cut down he truly wanted to be a shinobi. If Keita wants to die a quick death then so be it who am I? God? Captain save-an-idiot?

"Fine don't blame me-"

I kicked Keita legs out from under him getting him to fall and turned quickly to stop an ax blade, the force that hit me was too great for me to stop and sent me flying backward, I skipped like a rock atop water on a few roofs before smashing through a building, I flew through the structure completely before hitting the one behind it which stopped me. I was a bit dizzy and my back hurt like hell now but I was alive, I spat out some blood and dusted myself off and shot back through the very hole I created with my body. Everything began to blur in my peripherals but as I closed in I saw my target and placed two hands on my katana and reared it back. He saw me coming at the last second and readied himself to receive my attack. Our weapons clashed with such force my hands went numb for a second due to the pure shock, he pushed me away and I landed near the opposite edge of the roof. I readied my blade prepared for a quick counter but he showed no signs of moving.

"I see, you're different from these kids. I take it this isn't your first time on a battlefield?" he asked.

"Heh, the battlefield is my home," I said with a smirk. The man standing before me was well built for his size and that ax he had resting on his shoulder was nothing short of intimidating, the blade itself had to be three to four feet in length alone. He wore a purple yukata in which only one arm was placed in the sleeve the other was free exposing his chest and abdominals which were covered in scars. His eyes were narrow and at the distance, I was at it looked like they were closed, his hair was kept up in a messy bun that would sway as the wind blew past.

"Hey kid, get your friends out of here they will just get in our way," he said as he sat down. "I'll wait till their gone,"

"W-we aren't leaving!" Keita yelled. "With all of us here we'll take you down easily!"

"Oh? Really now? I gave you the option to come at me all at once and you and your friends just stood there paralyzed by fear after I sent him flying, you don't belong here kid now run along before you get hurt,"

Despite how calm and measured he was throwing waves of killing intent which was probably what was freezing the others in place, additionally, I could tell he wasn't anything like what we've been dealing with up to this point and certainly not something they were used to dealing with. I needed the heirs out of my way.

"Jin-sama, take your buddies and get the hell out of here, go get help," I said as I settled into my stance.

"I can't leave you here Yuudai, you'll be killed," he responded.

"Yeah well, sorry to break it to you but if I die no one will really care. You three, on the other hand, have something to live for so with that being said get the fuck outta here," I said with a bit more force in my voice. "This is what I was born for, this is all I'm worth to this world. Allow me to fulfill my purpose which is to protect the main house with my life if need be,"

Jin looked in my direction for a good few seconds before disappearing, the others soon followed him and once we were alone he stood up.

"That was a touching little speech just now, but surely there is something you have that is worth living for other than protect scum like them," he said.

"I do not, since I was young this is what I was told, be it directly or indirectly. I live to fight and die for the main house and the village nothing more nothing less,"

"Hmph, a shame such talent being wasted like this, my name is Takemoto and you are Yuudai I assume?"

"Correct," I said still waiting for the formalities to end. I didn't have to wait long as he disappeared from my line of sight and began to bounce around me looking for an opening. He was fast but I knew I was faster and that would be what would decide this battle. I caught a slight sight of him to my right and came straight for him, he hurriedly parried my attack surprised by the speed that I possessed, I broke contact and came at him from his flank this time he swiped at me with his ax and I slipped underneath it and slashed his side, it was shallow he had moved out of the way at the last second. I quickly went to reset but a large gust of wind blew me off the roof sending me plummeting to the earth below, I turned so I was facing the ground to pick up speed and hit the ground. I rolled away just before Takemoto made impact and quickly set myself.

"Shippuuga!"

I sent the attack straight for him and followed right behind it. He blocked the shockwave with his ax but it visibly pushed him back, I appeared right in front of him my blade reared all the way back.

"Sentsuizan!"

I slammed my katana into his ax head and the following impact was so great that Takemoto couldn't stay grounded and was taken off his feet and I was propelling him, I brought my feet up and kick him away sending him crashing into a shop at the end of the street. I closed the distance quickly and waited for him to emerge from the structure.

"My, my, seems I was right about you," Takemoto said with a chuckle. He walked out of the debris brushing himself off. "You have some incredible instincts, reminds me of this chick I fought not too long ago, what was her name again?" he pondered his question for a bit before snapping his fingers. "Akako that was her name," he began to laugh. "Boy, let me tell you I thought I was gonna die that day,"

"So you fought my aunt and lived to tell the tale? Luck was on your side that day," I said.

"What?! You two are related?! Well now that does explain a lot but it seems our little fight is done,"

I was confused by his statement we had just started. Then I felt a rush of wind pass me and Hisako was standing between me and Takemoto.

"Yuudai are you ok?" she asked without looking back.

"I'm fine," I answered. "Let me guess Jin informed you of my current situation,"

She didn't answer.

"Well now this certainly is a treat, one of the four great generals of Iwa has decided to grace me with her presence, I'm honored," Takemoto said with a smirk.

"Yuudai, get to the center of the village and help with the final sweeps, that an order," Hisako said in a low voice. I stood there for a second before a sick feeling began to creep up my spine and it was coming from Hisako, this was worse than killing intent. There was history between these two and whatever happened Hisako wanted blood for payment. I placed the back side of my katana on my shoulder and began to walk away, I wasn't about to tangle with her with that kind of aura radiating off her.

"Yuudai! If I find out you ran off somewhere without given orders to do so I'll make you regret it, you understand me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I said as I began to sprint away.

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Things were slowly beginning to die down by this point most of the Haze shinobi had either been killed or had fled, the only thing we were doing was picking off any of the stragglers who had been injured but still breathing and putting them out of their misery. As I walked I took in all the destruction we caused, a lot of these buildings were once people's homes and businesses were now just piled up rubble but what really surprised me was the lack of the civilian population. I didn't see one non-combatant which didn't make sense to me unless…. I'd have to ask Aoi to see if they had anything to do with getting them out because we didn't hold back at all hitting this target. Typically shinobi only have to worry about the civilian element during peace-time missions, raids on a shinobi village by another is rare and really difficult to pull off. The only difference in this scenario was a simple fact that we had way more people than they did and we just overwhelmed their defenses, but I wonder what would have happened if the hidden Leaf was able to bolster the Haze's defenses how many of us would have died trying to take this village? The number I estimated was sickening to think about and I probably would have been amongst the dead but thank God…

"Counterattack!" yelled a random person flying overhead. "The leaf is also with them!"

Them? But we killed…. No…. this was a trap?! No wonder there were no civilians the village was evacuated long before we got here. I rushed to the nearest rooftop to see if I could get a glimpse of the counterforce. What I saw unnerved me, along the same ridge we came down was a wall of bodies all hostile towards us all wearing that iconic hidden Leaf uniform and some Haze were mixed in.

"I guess this is it," I said to myself. "It's been real, it's been fun," I began to pull my katana out. "But it hasn't been real fun,"

I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, it's like my body was trying to tell me to run, run as fast as you can and don't look back.

'Are you scared?' came that voice. It sounded familiar like I've heard this voice whisper to me before.

"I'm terrified," I responded.

'Don't be, I'm with you, I won't let my sworn life-partner die so easily,'

"Who are you?"

'We'll meet soon, but first, let's get you through this challenge. Trust me and you will live.'

I must be so scared I'm really listening to a voice in my head. I don't know if I should heed anything it says.

'Don't let your faith waiver trust in me! And I promise you you'll live! Trust me, partner!'

I felt it's plea reverberate through my whole body and echoed in the deepest parts of my mind. I took in a deep breath.

"Alright…. I'll trust you whoever you are, but if I die I'm gonna find you and kill you myself," I said.

'That is fair, but partner, if you die so, will I,'

Well, what do I have to lose at this point? Other than my life?

"Well if that's the case then let's do this!"

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A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I was in a school if you want to know which one just take my pen name delete the numbers and watch some Youtube videos on it. It sucked but I'm going back because I want to graduate from that school it's been a dream of mine so I'll try to give you guys more chapters before I leave for it again. Thank you all for supporting this fic review if you like….. Until next time my friends.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19

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There was this stillness in the air, the kind of stillness felt just before chaos ensues. The wind began to blow and at that moment like they were waiting for that symbolic moment to charge the village walls. It looked like a wall of green-ish purple rushing towards us and it was unnerving.

"Yuudai!" came Hisako's voice from behind me. I turned and she appeared with a gust of wind. "Where is Jin?!" she asked.

"I have no clue," I said. Hisako let out a frustrated grunt to my response.

"Well, go fucking find him! He and the other heirs must be evacuated now!"

"Well-

"Yuudai I swear if the next words out of your mouth aren't 'yes, General' I will have you imprisoned and flogged for insubordination, now go!"

"Yes, General!" I yelled and took off with my senses on a full scan looking for Jin and his friends. I started my sweep from the east which was our area of responsibility when we first came through and I didn't pick up any signatures that even closely resembled theirs. I swept up towards the front towards where the action was just beginning and my heart sank when I picked up on Jin's position.

"Does he have a death wish?!" I spat as I made a b-line for him.

'Why does this person bring out such strong emotions in you, partner?' came the voice.

"Long story, no time to explain now," I said. As I got closer I picked up on Ryojin's and Keita's signatures as well but decided to worry about them in a bit. I landed on the rooftop and located Jin down below all by himself.

"Jin-sama!" I yelled.

'Partner! Behind him!'

My body moved without thought and I was behind Jin, in that same nano-second a Leaf shinobi was in front of me and our weapons clashed. I pushed him back and my back pushed up to Jin's body.

'Left!'

"Yours or mines?!"

'Fool! we are sharing the same body currently, yes! Your left!'

I slashed the air to the left and felt the light resistance of cloth before slicing through flesh, I didn't even see who it was that I cut through just the splash of red.

'Behind us!'

I grabbed Jin and kicked his legs out from under him and reared my blade back.

"Shippuuga!" I yelled. The ensuing shockwave blew back two more who were trying to attack. "Are we clear yet?!" I asked the voice.

'Yes, hurry,'

With that confirmation, I quickly grabbed Jin and through him on my shoulder.

"Yuudai I can run on my own!" he yelled.

"Yeah, but not faster than I can," I said and took off like I was shot out of a cannon, I began to move towards Keita and Ryojin, I had to get these dolts out of here before they found some way to get themselves killed or get someone else killed. I flew down an alleyway and made a right then a left down another alley. An explosion rocked the road ahead of me and a flash of red flew past the opening, I cut left after the flash and saw Keita running as fast as he could.

"Keita-Sama!," I yelled.

'Partner! Behind us, you must hurry!'

I gripped Jin's uniform as hard as I could and cocked him back slightly.

"What are you about to do Yuudai?!" Jin asked in a fluster at my movements.

"Just get the hell outta here, understand?"

Once Keita looked back at me I planted and launched Jin towards him, I did a complete somersault forwards and rolled a few times before letting my feet catch the ground letting me slide to a stop. I got up and faced the opposite direction just in time to be greeted by two Leaf and one Haze shinobi. I caught one doing hand seals so I decided to rush him and throw his concentration off, I was quickly intercepted by the Haze shinobi with a clang of steel on steel contact.

'Partner,'

"On it,"

I heard the shuriken cutting the air to my right, I dropped my left hand from my hilt and began forming seals.

"Earth Release: Mud wall!" I said and stomped my right foot and pushed the chakra into the earth causing the wall to rise and protect my flank, once that threat was handled I tested my enemy's reaction to me loosening the force I was exerting in our stalemate. He immediately tried to throw my balance off which worked in my favor as I quickly retreated from him and took off towards the direction Jin and Keita ran towards. I needed to make sure they got out and wasn't just hiding somewhere, and Royjin I just hope someone helps him out too.

'Partner they are coming!'

"I'm running as fast as I can!" I shouted. I ducked a kunai aimed for my head, and cut down another alley I opened my senses and picked up on Jin and Keita's location Ryojin was also with them and to my relief, they were clearing out the area and no one was following them. "Good, now I can cut loose a bit," I said as I round the corner. I could feel my pursuers splitting up one to contain me and the other two to cut me off from retreat. The one stayed hot on my heels as I tried to outmaneuver the other two, this game of positioning and counter repositioning went on for a few blocks before I felt the signatures of more enemies headed my way, and before I knew it, I was completely cut off from the rest of the force. I ran out into the main road where I was met by more enemy shinobi.

"Fuck me," I spat.

'Why would you want to breed with yourself?'

"It's a figure of speech," I responded.

'Fret not partner, I will lend you aid'

I slowly began to feel my exhausted chakra system was being replaced by some foreign energy, before long my haggard breathing began to stabilize and my heart rate began to slow. My eyesight was normal until I blinked and the world changed into just red and white, the shinobi became just outlines of human bodies with small or large balls floating in the center that flickered like flames. I was completely lost for words, was I still even in the same reality as my opponents at this point?

'Partner, they're coming'

Sure enough, the outlines began to move and one charged me, I moved and my blade was plunged into its chest, I blinked and my sight returned to normal and I saw the look on the shinobi's face, a mixture of confusion and shock.

"H-How?" he asked before spitting up blood all over my head.

I blinked again and my vision returned to the red and white coloring, I pulled my blade out and tried to put some distance between myself and the rest of the force and jumped back only to go flying backward a lot farther than I was expecting.

"What in the hell?"

I felt a tingle and my body reacted and sliced clean through another person who tried to attack me from behind. More came charge this time in groups and I could see all their movement well in advance of them making them hell I'm sure they hadn't even thought these actions yet and I could see them. One after another I cut down my would-be killers down my strength was overwhelming my speed was beyond comprehension.

I felt like a god amongst men.

'They are fleeing, good we-'I felt a painful pulse deep within my body, which brought me to a knee. I began to struggle to take in air like someone had their hands around my throat and were squeezing with all the force they could muster. 'Partner the soul! Eat the soul!' I looked up and saw the ball of light that I saw within the center of my enemies floating right before me, I snatched it out of the air and stuffed it in my mouth and swallowed it whole. The pain began to slowly subside and I began to cough vigorously as if I had just recovered from near-drowning. 'Good, the enemy has fled we are safe for now'

"Just what in the hell are you?!" I demanded. "Start talking!"

I felt sick to my stomach at what I just did, I ate another man's soul those balls of flame were those people's souls! What kind of monster eats people's souls?!

'I am a yokai, an oni as you humans refer to us as'

"Ok, so am I possessed or something?!"

'Not at all,'

"Then get lost, I don't need your help or your sick powers!"

'As I said earlier, we are tied by fate itself. You cannot be rid of me no matter how much you wish it. Your ancestors and mines entered into a blood contract long ago which bound us together.'

"So that person's soul what happened to it?! Where did it go?!" I yelled.

'We devoured it and used it to heal and replenish our spiritual energy, what you humans call chakra because you humans have such fragile bodies my chakra is extremely poisonous to your body you have to do this so you don't die. As to what happened to the soul it has disappeared that person will never exist again in any dimension you humans can exist in. you've killed that person's body and soul'

No, no, no, no, what have I done?!

"If that's the case then I don't want your power!"

'That is fine, however, I live off the souls of humans and if I die so do you. If you were to starve me then I would just take control of your body forcibly and kill indiscriminately devouring souls until I've had my fill. Would you prefer I did that?'

It was so nonchalant about it, killing people as if they had no value other than to stave off its hunger. What could I do? there's no way I could kill a yokai, why me?! Why am I suffering like this?!

"Ok, what is this contract?" I asked.

'I am under what you humans call a summoning contract, once you feed me enough souls I can be summoned to your plane of existence or if you subdue me in combat whichever comes first.'

"I haven't signed that contract yet though, so how can you even be in contact with me right now?" I asked. That's how summoning contracts are supposed to work right? Right?!

The voice sighed.

'Are you pretending to be a fool or are you one? I do not have time to go into full details, if I did those people you were trying to protect will be killed, is that what you want partner?'

I searched for the heirs' signature and found that they were surrounded there were some in front of them and I assumed they were friendly but they were dropping like flies.

'With my help, you can save them, however, go as you are and you will be cut down like the weakling that you are, what will it be?'

I clenched my fist, what choice did I have? I had to do what needed to be done. I was going to find my mother and force her to explain this fucked up relationship we have with these yokais.

"Fine," I said begrudgingly. "Help me save them,"

'Ara, ara what a change of heart you've had partner, then let us be on our way'

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I moved as fast as my limbs could take me, I could feel the last of those protecting the three idiots lives get snuffed out and they began to close in on them. Why aren't they running?! What could be going through their heads?! God if this wasn't a direct order from Hisako I'd have let them die a long time ago. I wish they hadn't come out to this raid, a small operation would have been more suitable to break them in but nope the powers that be just HAD to let them come on one the most important mission in the war so far at least that I was aware of.

'Partner, you complain too much'

"Can it, yokai," I spat.

I closed the distance so quickly that I surprised myself and tried to put on the brakes at the last second, however, I still ended up crashing into a group of enemy shinobi taking them with me into the cliff face that was behind the heirs.

'This child,' the voice came with a sigh.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and leaped towards the heirs.

"I thought I told you guys to get the hell out of here?!"

Keita scoffed under his breath which got my blood boiling.

'Calm yourself, partner, bad things take place when consumed by anger'

I took in a deep breath, it was right now wasn't the time. I'd deal with them later, right now however I had a squad and a half of shinobi to deal with. I could feel the fatigue slowly began to creep back into my body as the effects of my parasite's powers began to wear off, I didn't feel as confident that I would last as long as I needed to especially due to what I had to do if I wanted to.

'Ah, looks like we won't have to fight after all' came the voice.

"What nonsense are you spewing-"

There was no noise, my senses were on full alert and yet in front of me stood three people wearing the executioner forces uniform. They completely slipped through my defenses… but how? I couldn't make out their signatures it was like something was blocking my senses or better yet they were being drowned out in white noise. Something was calming about their presence though until I blinked and that red and white vision returned and I saw two beings that towered over two of the three people, their horns were long and the tips were red, their hair looked like a river of blood long and flowing. Their skin was a pale grey color and the muscles underneath were well defined. There clothing seemed to come straight from the old days just a yukata and sandals with a large jug hanging from their waists with the kaji for "sake" or "alcohol" written on it. The aura they were giving off was heavy and smelled of death and decomposition, I wanted to hurl but my body felt frozen to the spot I felt if I moved I would be killed immediately.

'Do not worry partner, father will not hurt you'

As soon as it said that the one in the middle looked over its shoulder and our eyes met, I wanted to run and curl up in a corner somewhere, those eyes were dark and unemotional and it seemed like they pierced directly into my soul. Our eyes were locked for a second before he turned back forward.

'Hmph, I'm unimpressed by your offspring partner. He is lacking in so many areas. Surely now you will heed my words and try again'

I blinked and my vision returned to normal the person in the center was taking a glance at me and I could see the color of their eyes. It was then I knew who was behind that mask.

"Okaa-chan?" I asked. I got no answer.

"73, get the heirs and their bodyguard to safety, seven and I will take it from here,"

"Hai, nine,"

The person on the left broke away and appeared at my side.

"Let's go," they said and moved past me, I didn't move, I wasn't done doing what I came to do. I wanted Ruji I wasn't leaving without killing him and I knew he was here I just need to find him.

"Oh, looks like little Yuudai has entered his rebellious phase, such a bad boy," came Akako's voice. My right foot twitched to move and in that instant, my mother was standing right in front of me. She removed her mask to look at me with indifferent eyes, they almost looked soulless, they reminded me of my other mother and how she used to look at me like I was a burden, like a mistake that could never be fixed. This wasn't a mother looking at her son.

"You will leave this second Yuudai, go anywhere else and you will be punished accordingly," she stated a matter of factly, there was no room for negotiation but it pissed me off, this was the first time I had seen her in almost a year and a half. I kissed my teeth.

'Partner! Don't-'

"I ain't going anywhere,"

As soon as the words came out her hand ran across my face and the sting was pronounced, it was a full bitch slap, I felt the water begin to rise in my left eye but didn't form a tear. I turned my head back to my mother who was still looking at me with a cold stare.

"Hmph, you've got some nerve telling me what you're not going to do, last warning Yuudai, leave now," she said with finality laced in her words.

"And you've got some nerve trying to act like a parent now of all times! Don't think you can just appear and order me around! I'm not your subor-"

I felt a sharp blow to the back of my neck and the world went dark.

"Sleep, little Yuudai, you've earned it," Akako said to me before I completely lost consciousness.

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My body felt wet like I had been sitting in water for a long time. I moved and the sloshing sound confirmed my suspicions.

"Ara, awake are we?" said the yokai. Oddly it's voice seemed closer and less inward like it was physically right there. I slowly blinked as my vision and other senses returned to me. I looked to see a red figure standing over me.

"Who?" I asked.

"It is I, partner," it said. My vision began to clear and I could see more detail. The figure started to look like a female version of the entities I saw standing with my mother and aunt. Her skin was red however, her eyes were a bright vibrant yellow and her hair a smooth silver but it was cut short. Her bosom was wrapped up as she wore a yukata loosely with the sash unsecured and left hanging, no pants to speak of just two pieces of cloth in the front and back that were kept in place with a black rope. Her horns were shorter than the others I saw as well. Her canines were stuck out slightly past what her lips could hide. Her figure gave her curves that would excite any healthy male, and what was worse was that she seemed to be aware of the alluring air she gave off.

"Yokai?" I asked again.

"Yes and stop calling me Yokai I have a name," she said with a huff.

"Well, you never introduced yourself properly so what else am I to call you?" I shot back. I look of embarrassment washed over her face followed by a sigh. "Where am I?"

"The place I reside within you call it your 'inner world' or as you humans call it your subconscious mind," I sat up and took in my surroundings, the water was dark and murky like a swamp up ahead was the shoreline which was lined with jagged rocks and looming over that was a large singular cliff. There wasn't much light seeing that the sun was being blocked by overcast clouds. It was just a depressing scene, even the sun or what I thought was the sun was black. "I remember the sun used to shine brightly on this place when you were a child and the water was clear and blue, now this has taken its place. Sad isn't it?"

Her question was more of a statement like she slowly watched the decay of something she once loved and enjoyed.

"How long have you been here?" I got a scoff in response.

"How many times must I say it, I've been with you since the day you were born. Watching quietly as you developed into what you are now, usually my clan we wait until you've reached sexual maturity before we start to interact with y'all, however, this was an exception,"

"Ok I'm still confused, what are you exactly? How are you dwelling inside of my mind yet having no control over my thoughts or actions? What is this contract we have? You need to start explaining," I said.

"Well, first introductions. Name's Kamiko-Doji I'm your life partner, hopefully, you take good care of me," she said with a grin. "Now the boring stuff, ever heard the stories of Shuten-Doji?" I nodded. "Ok well, Shuten-Doji is my great grandmother, this contract I've mentioned started with her and your great grandfather. Long story short my clan was on the brink of extinction from another Oni clan and your great grandfather was on the brink of death during the warring states period. The deal was simple he allowed her to become one with him and feed her spiritual energy, and she would assist him in combat, as well as a lifelong companion who would never betray him, little, did both of them know just how beneficial this deal was for both parties,"

"So what do you mean by 'becoming one? Also if the deal was just between them then how did this become a generational thing?'" I asked.

"Exactly what it means, you and I are one spiritual being with two separate physical bodies. My life is tied to your lifespan, I see what you see, feel what you feel, and vise versa I just age slower than you despite me having lived longer," she laughed at the last statement. "In terms of how this contract became one with your whole bloodline, well that's a story you need to hear from your grandfather or mother it's not my place to explain that to you," That's if I ever see her again at this rate I'm raising myself at this point. I was confused about how to handle my current relationship with my mother, if things keep going this way we'll grow distant and our bond will be lost at least on my end. You can only slap me in the face but so many times before I'll get sick of it, and I didn't want to lose this bond because my previous mother didn't want me at all so subconsciously I crave that love only a mother can provide.

"Alright, so Kamiko, uh, san?" I questioned.

"No need to be formal, Kamiko is fine," she responded.

"Right, so your powers how do they work, don't leave out details I need to know everything,"

"Alright the fun part," she said with a giggle. "There are three stages to my power that I can offer you, stage one is simple you experienced 10% of it already I enhance your body and mind past their limits that you are currently at so needless to say as you grow and get stronger the more stage one will enhance your abilities, stage two is a bit more dangerous depending on how many souls you've fed me, at this point we become living breathing weapon your body becomes more "oni" like, you get a horn an everything, cool right?"

"Not really," I said simply. "I don't know about you but humans don't like looking inhuman,"

"Tch, well I think it's cool so there, anyways, there are a few drawbacks to stage two, first your instincts completely take over in other words you can't tell the difference between friend or foe, this is to maximize our combat potential to its peak, second your body will be damaged severely when you come out of that state due to the limits your mind puts on your body so that you don't overexert yourself would have been removed, and lastly the recovery time is long, now I can do my best to help you recover faster however you would have to drink alcohol or eat A LOT of food for me to do that." So really stage two is a 'throw everything including the kitchen sink' a berserker mode if you will. "Lastly stage three, now, here is where we both put our lives at risk, this is the point we'll become as close to being one entity, some aspects of your physical appearance will change I can't say what because everyone is different, but, in this state I literally feed off your life force, in return you'll for a period of time ascend your mortality, anything that is normally deadly to you humans you will be immune to everything except getting your head lopped off your shoulders not even an oni can survive such an ordeal,"

"In short I'll become a human-oni hybrid?" I asked.

"However as I warned earlier I'll be feeding off your life force in that state and I much prefer not to die an early death so this stage is an absolute last resort and without both of our consent we cannot enter it,"

"Heh, nor do I,"

"Then why do you reject my help, simply because you have to eat human souls? I could help you overcome the burden that you are carrying by yourself, you want to be strong but even you realized that at one point due to your illness you'll plateau and that will be it, you'll stay stuck where you are at," there was a long silence. "Your silence means I'm right, you cannot lie to me partner I've felt every feeling you've ever had, I am offering you the opportunity to achieve the power you crave,"

She knew I could tell just by looking into her eyes, it was like peering into a mirror. She knew all my secrets, all my feelings, she knew me better than I knew myself and she knew deep down that I want to be powerful no matter the cost. Morals, friends, family, status she knew deep down they meant nothing to me because even in my old life power was the end all be all, the weak were trampled underfoot without care for their feelings or their life. The only difference between that world and this was where the abuse of the weak was done in the open here, it was more done in underlying ways under the guise of "helping people" in the old world, when in reality they could give a damn about the people they were supposedly helping. I couldn't be rid of Kamiko even if I wanted to, all thanks to some blood contract or summoning contract with special parameters that neither one of us could violate, so what was the harm? I've already killed so many people who am I to continue to cling onto old morals that weren't even mine, to begin with, they were programmed into me when I was born and naturally this world tried to override that programming but I fought it because by doing so I thought I could hold onto my humanity.

Could I still call myself human? Or was I just a tool now that had these things called emotions and morals that were getting in the way of its effectiveness?

"So, we are life partners, right? We both have the same amount of skin in the game correct?"

"Correct,"

"Then so long as you hold up your end of this partnership, I'll feed you till you can't eat anymore," I said. Kamiko flashed a tooth filled grin.

"I look forward to it, partner," she said.

I knew there was no going back for me now, I made up my mind to attain power at any cost, that's all I had left, at least that's what I believed back then. I was such a fool in my younger years. If only I knew what was waiting for me down this road would I have been so eager to chase my ambition?

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A/N: YO, how's everyone doing been a while again and I'm sorry about that, got promoted so I don't have as much time as I used to, but I'm still here and I'll try to get the next chapter to y'all in a more timely manner. As always, thank you for reading my work I really do appreciate it review if you feel inclined to do so… until next time my friends


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 20

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The raid was a success from what I heard the Hidden Haze was wiped from the pages of history. We sustained some heavy casualties but so did the Leaf. Things have been quiet recently there would be a few skirmishes here and there but nothing major like with the raid a few months ago. The war was in a reset period which is a natural occurrence no army can sustain a continuous assault or defense. I was sent home on recovery for the first time in my shinobi career I was more banged up than I care to admit but once the doctors got a hold of me and did a full body examination I was barred from duty for a few months due to the sheer amount of injuries both new and old I was harboring was staggering to them.

"How are you even functioning right now?!" one doctor asked me in astonishment. "You shouldn't even be able to walk right now,"

I just shrugged at him. It's not like I didn't feel the pain, I just dealt with it and avoided things that would aggravate them unless I was fighting, so I was placed on bed rest and no training under any circumstances hence why I found myself in my empty home.

No mother or father. Just me.

The constant quiet was driving me up a wall and the fact that I couldn't leave the house was making it even worse, how do I know I couldn't leave? Well you see just on the edge of my senses I feel someone watching the house and that someone isn't a regular shinobi like myself. This person is from the Executioner Forces and how do I know this? Well the last time I tried to leave the compound I was blocked by said shinobi who informed me that my mother was the one who ordered them to keep an eye on me while I recovered and was to bring me meals at the appropriate times, and of course I couldn't know when those times were that would have been too convenient for me to plot an escape for a day. Honestly I didn't want to cause any trouble for the guy or gal but I just wanted to go somewhere other than my porch it was springtime now and the weather was beginning to break so the sun was shining a bit more and the air was beginning to heat up but here I was sitting in my bed reading book on lighting release that I had found in my dad's collection I found in the living room. I knew I was going to survive this war I would need to start expanding my skill set I never saw another village's bingo book however I knew it would only be a matter of time before I became too much of a threat to be ignored.

With that in mind I also understood that using elemental jutsu besides Earth release would be a challenge for me due to my condition, Earth release is the easiest on the chakra network simply due to the fact that you can use the surrounding earth for the techniques you don't have to create it using your chakra if you don't want to. This, on the other hand, was another story and it was uncharted waters for me in terms of what I could handle, and maybe I'll never be able to use another element other than earth which would suck because I've always wanted to use flashy jutsu in a battle ones that would captivate my opponent and if I didn't kill them then they would remember just who I was based off our fight, but that just doesn't seem to be in the cards for me unfortunately. Then another idea flashed into my mind my swordsmanship, the one thing that no one in my generation in the village does better than me, at least I think. My skill with the sword has become a cornerstone in my fighting style sure taijutsu is a close second but kenjutsu is definitely where my skills shine. Should I think about possibly learning a two-sword style? It would be difficult without a teacher and not too many shinobi in Iwagakure are proficient with one sword let alone two, but the level of versatility it would give me in combat was undeniable and that's what I needed...versatility. I wasn't too excited about trying to teach myself how to fight with two blades but before I got too far ahead of myself I still three sword techniques to master before I begin to think about two swords, I'll keep that idea tucked away for now until it's time.

I decided it was enough laying in bed for the day and flung the sheets from my body and headed for the bathroom. I knocked my morning routine out before heading to the porch I flung the door open and without fail there was a bento box sitting right in front of the door this time however there was a piece of paper tucked under the knot of the cloth. I picked the small box up and headed back inside to the dining room, I quickly unraveled the knot at the table and grabbed the note from its confines and opened it.

 _Yuudai,_

 _I'm coming home tonight, there is something I want to discuss with you._

 _-mom_

Oh, joy.

'Shouldn't you be happy, partner?'

"Why, to hear my mother scold me about something that happened months ago?"

'No, I mean the simple fact that she is coming home and that she's alive. My father has told me about some of the dangerous things your mother has to do sometimes. I think it would be unfair to be hostile towards her in her own home.'

She had a point and a damn good one. Who was I to be hostile towards my mother over a slap in the face that I probably deserved, it was disrespectful to do that out in the open in front of possibly one of her subordinates no less, she must have felt embarrassed.

"It's just, I rarely see her now, her and my father, am I wrong for just wanting to see my parents from time to time,"

'No, but that attitude of yours is blinding you to the simple fact that you are about to receive exactly what it is you are asking for. The amount of time doesn't matter as long as the time has been spent with you, plus you have been out on the frontlines for over a year straight did you ever try to go out of your way to see them? If there is one thing I hate about you humans the most is your blatant hypocrisy and not only is it blatant you then turn a blind eye to it simply because it suits your emotions at the time,'

"Ok, ok, geez I'll quit being a brat if you promise not to go off on another rant it was hard to sleep last time," I said. I pulled the lid off the box and a nicely arranged meal greeted me. "Woah, grilled fish and eggs? This is my favorite," I noticed the steam that was still coming of the food it was fresh still unlike the other meals where I would have to heat them this was just made. "Mom must have made this,"

'How do you know?'

"Because only my mother would indulge in such a weird breakfast request, only she knows that I like grilled fish with eggs over a bed of rice," I said as a small smile crept onto my face, and I shook my head. "Why am I always complaining about my life some people have it way worse than I do,"

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Evening fell over the village as I sat on the back porch changing my bandages, most of the damage done to me was internal however I did have a few flesh wounds that I didn't notice after the raid. It's amazing the level of pain this body can withstand, I almost feel superhuman until I see red leaking from parts of me. I heard the door slide open behind me and looked over my shoulder to see my mother, she looked tired her eyes were low. I shot her a smile.

"Welcome home okaa-chan, give me a second I'll draw a bath for you,"

She said nothing as she moved closer to me and within a second I was drawn into a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry Yuudai, you must hate your mother now don't you?" she said softly.

"I could never hate you, kaa-chan," I said. She squeezed me even tighter.

"I thought I was going to lose you, I worried about you every day. Even when your father would tell me you were fine. Some nights I couldn't sleep because I just didn't know what I'd do if I lost you." she said as her breath began to choke, and even I began to feel that tightness in my chest. She was worried about me, for a whole year she was enduring mental torture because I was out there all alone with people she didn't trust and hell I didn't either. I could feel the tears on my back as tried to draw as close as she could to me, I'm sure if she could have pulled me back inside of her she would have. I began to feel the pain start to spread through my body due to how hard she was squeezing me.

"Uh, kaa-chan," I said in a strained voice. "I'm still injured here,"

"Oh, right, sorry," she said as she quickly released me. "I'll finish changing your bandages for you," she said as her hands picked up where mines left off on my shoulder. I felt her hands freeze once the bandage was fully removed which wrapped from my shoulders around my back and abdomen. I knew my body was scared especially my back I can't remember how many kunai I've had pulled out of my back or the time I let someone get through my defense and gave me a nice long slash from my shoulder to my hip, which required over 100 stitches…I think, thank god for Noriko-Taicho I'd have bled out if it wasn't for her. I could only imagine what was running through my mother's head I'm sure her maternal instincts were going wild I am her only child after all.

"I'm alright kaa-chan, most of them are old and healed I'm alive,"

"I know your father gave you a strong body like his," she said as she began to wrap my abdomen. "A mother will still worry about her baby no matter how old or strong he gets,"

There was a moment of silence, it wasn't awkward just quiet as I let my mother continue her work, I looked up at the half-dark half-lit sky and wondered how everyone in the 1st expeditionary company was doing, were they looking at the same stars as I was? I missed them very much, especially Jun. I wondered if she was ok I prayed she was still alive it would be a shame for her to die.

"There, all done," my mother's voice cut through my thoughts. I picked myself up out of my seated position.

"Thanks, kaa-chan, I'll go get your bath and dinner started you must be hungry and tired," I said as I walked back inside towards the bathroom. I plugged the drain hole and turn the water on so it could begin to fill, once the water was close to the lip I cut the faucet and made my way through the doorway to the linen closet to grab a towel and washcloth and set them up on the rack. As I exited the bathroom my mother had turned down the hallway, she gave me a kind look and walked past me into the steam-filled room. I made my way into the kitchen to see what ingredients I could muster up to make a decent dinner, I opened the fridge and saw a small chicken that was cleaned already which made me happy, seeing that I didn't have to gut or defeater it was a small relief now what was I going to make with it? I checked the cupboards and saw we had mirin, soy sauce, and some sugar.

"Looks like it's going to be teriyaki western-style tonight," I said to myself as I grabbed the bottles out and set them on the counter, I then went underneath the sink and grabbed the saucepan out as well as the small charcoal grill. I then went back for the chicken and tossed it in the sink and began to wash it thoroughly taking care to get in every nook and cranny. Once done I set the grill outside the door and filled it with charcoal with a snap of my fingers I lit the grill and began to fan the budding flame. Once that was done I got the rice ready and into the cooker. I heard my mother getting done with her bath so I began to pick up the pace. I grabbed a knife and the chicken and with surgical precision sliced the breast off and the thigh along with the drumstick, I quickly cut the joints holding the thigh and drumstick together and put the other parts to the side, I lightly seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and took them outside and place the pieces over the fire. I rushed back in and pour the mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar into the saucepan and set it over the pallet and turned the stove on low. I leaned up against the counter and blew out a breath.

"Well, now we wait," I said to myself.

"Oh, it looks like you haven't burned the house down yet," my mother said with a smile on her face. "I was worried I would come in here and see a disaster,"

I scoffed.

"The monks at the temple taught me how to cook when I was there, and it was my extra duty Akako-obasan put on me said it would teach me how to be precise in my techniques and pay attention to details,"

"I see, I see so I should have been sending ingredients to the house instead of cooking your meals hmmm? My little Yuudai's growth surprises me every day," I kissed my teeth and my ear was immediately tugged on harshly which made me yelp in pain. "My, my, he's also seem to have forgotten his manners towards his parents~," she said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" I pleaded. She looked at me unconvinced. "I swear Kaa-chan I'm sorry," with that she released me and I put my hand up to my ear and rushed outside to turn the meat my mother followed me.

"So you've met her, haven't you?" she asked vaguely.

"I don't know who you are talking about kaa-chan, "her" could be anyone," I said as I fanned the coals to keep them hot.

"Don't make me hit you, you know who I'm talking about,"

"Kamiko?"

"Yes, I'm sure she wasn't able to adequately explain to you just why she exists within you was she?"

"Doesn't matter if she could or couldn't I should have heard it from you or ojii-san before it was just dropped on me in the middle of combat like it was, but, what's done is done. So kaa-chan is this what you want to talk about tonight?" I asked still keeping my attention on the coals making sure the temperature stayed hot enough, I could tell this was going to be a long conversation.

"Yes, this and a few other things," I turned towards her now.

"Well I'm all ears," I said with a blank stare on my face.

It was my mother's turn to sigh, her eyes darted back and forth as if she was trying to collect her thoughts or maybe it wasn't her thoughts but the words to convey them properly. She finally looked me in the eyes.

"What is your end goal now that you know what dwells within you?" she asked.

"Nothing has changed, I still want to be a shinobi that is remembered well after my era has come to an end," I said almost automatically. "Just because I have some oni dwelling inside of me doesn't mean I have forgotten the whole reason behind me choosing this path, I'm still shooting to be the best in my generation,"

That was already a tall order because since I was born before the actual generation the main story is about that means I fall into Kakashi's generation, which means that I'd be competing with not just him this generation includes the likes of Momochi Zabuza, Mei Terumi, Dauri, and more whose names elude me at this moment, and just in that list alone are two future kage a cold-blooded killer who is extremely efficient at doing just that, and a genius who will raise the next generation of sannin. Let's not forget the sand village there was no telling what monster may be growing up there due to my presence and actions taken in Iwa, could a new scorch release user emerge? Or maybe a puppet master that rivals Sasori? All questions I was a bit fearful to answer because I knew I would have to be better than all of them. It would be challenging it may cost me my life should my resolve falter even slightly.

"So, you still have that silly dream hmmm?" my mother said.

"It's not silly." I shot back.

"It is, there is no way to measure how close you are to achieving said dream,"

"That's why it's not silly kaa-chan since I can't measure my progress I'll wake up every day and work on my skills, I'll struggle every day to take a step forward, and no matter what small wins I do have it will never be enough to satisfy my lust for greatness,"

"Heh, you sound just like your father, except you just have a lot more self-motivation than he did at your age," she said in a voice that was more in remembrance. I went inside to grab the cutting board I was using to take the chicken off the flame and headed inside my mother followed as I placed the board down and began slicing the parts into even pieces.

"So tell me kaa-chan, why do we have oni dwelling inside of us?" I asked as I turned the stove off so I didn't burn the sauce.

"Well, back before this family was officially part of this land we were a clan that resided in the Land of Demons. I'm sure Kamiko told you ojii-san was on the verge of death, which is half true, he was, but he brought it upon himself because he was power-hungry and tried to overthrow the priestess who had ruled the land for generations. Of course he was going to be executed and while they had the blade to his throat, Shuten-doji the mother of all oni came to him and asked if he wanted to live. In exchange for saving his life, his bloodline would forever be tied to the oni bloodlines and we became their vessels so that they could feed on human souls discreetly and not draw the attention of demon hunters and monks,"

"So wait how then are we related to shinobi monks then?" I asked as I began to plate the food.

"Well that was where my mother comes in, she is were our relation to the shinobi monks of the land of Earth comes from of course she never knew that dwelling within my dad was a demon and that is why I'm telling you now, Yuudai you must never reveal that which is inside of you to anyone, ever. The family who hunts demons may have been scattered but their descendants still live on and if one of them were to find out that you have Kamiko dwelling inside you they will kill you,"

Great another group of people that will want me dead. I handed my mother her bowl of rice and we began to eat while standing seeing that we were having an important conversation I guess manners go out the window with her. I still made sure not to eat like a pig because I didn't want my ears to get pinched.

"Mmmm, this is good Yuudai, guess I know whose going to be taking over the cooking duties at home from now on," my mother said with a smirk.

"Oh no, not happening," I said.

"Oh, going against the head of the family? You do know that's an offense punishable by death?" she said playfully.

"Wait, mom your the head of the family? I thought dad was," I said in confusion. My mother let out a snort.

"You think anything would get done if that was the case? Your father married into the family hence why his last name changed, this family has had two male heads and that was Ojii-san, and my father, but they will probably be the last since the Tsu clan has forbidden us from having male heads due to the last branch families uprising, which was lead by my father right after the second world war, since then the main houses have been doing what they can to keep us in line, they don't want a repeat of that blood bath again,"

"What happened?" I asked as I refilled my bowl with rice.

"Long story short, the branch families were sick of being treated like fodder during the war and all of the officers and captains were from the main houses, the level of inequality was staggering the pay we received would go back in the form of taxes. We were basically slaves being used to build this village into what it is now. This made the branch families resentful but it also made the main houses lazy by the time I had made it into the executioner forces majority of the branch houses touted one or two shinobi who were beyond exceptional. This fact scared the main houses into attempting to assassinate these people even I wasn't safe, this is when my father had enough and gathered as many followers as he could and struck back, a short but bloody civil war ensued and once it was done the vIllage was left in a torn and weakened state. The Tsuchikage took action by lifting the taxes and making promotions merit-based but even still the main houses have found a way to manipulate that to their advantage as I'm sure you are aware. They have not learned the lesson my father was trying to teach them they continue to make the same mistakes and once again have dragged us into another war with the leaf," my mother placed her finished bowl in the sink and washed her hands. "You may not know this but another civil war is coming, Yuudai,"

"Why do you say that kaa-chan?"

"It's simple look at whose in power right now, we are. Even with the main houses manipulation, we hold the captains' seats of the infantry, scouts and soon the medic corps. The death captains are an even split, and there are so many promising young shinobi like Aoi and yourself, the balance of power is slowly becoming lopsided, and eventually, the main house will panic like they always do and be the spark that leads to their downfall. Yuudai we are going to lose this war because the foolish elders, the Tsuchikage, and the main houses are making the same mistakes again and don't even see it. This is why I slapped you because I wanted you to escape with your life, I knew you were in no condition to continue to fight and to see you covered in blood, cut up, and covered in bruises it made my blood boil that this village had my child out here in an impossible situation that he's not even near ready to face and through sheer will power and skill you made it through, but the fact that you told me that you weren't going to leave and with such a defiant face too, I had to slap you back to your senses or at least that's what I tried to do,"

I moved to the sink and dropped my bowl into it. There was a silence that fell over the kitchen, this is a lot of information my mother was giving me and I just needed a second to process it all.

"Kaa-chan, do you hate the village?"

My mother took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"No, I don't hate the village, but I have a burning hatred for those running it. I'm not telling you to have the same feelings as I do but you need to understand that you must look out for yourself until this strife between us and them is solved," she said approaching me she placed her hand on my cheek and used her thumb to stroke it lightly. "Yuudai you can't die under any circumstances, you're the only thing keeping my anger in check, if I lose you I don't even want to imagine what I'll do,"

I stared into those grey eyes that belonged to my mother, I saw nothing in them that would indicate that she was fooling around. I honestly believed if I died she would burn this village to the ground or die trying, and I didn't want that.

"I won't die kaa-chan, I promise"

My mother gave me a soft smile before bringing me in for a hug. The warmth I felt was foreign to me. How long has it been since I've felt this warm feeling? I couldn't remember, which made me want this moment to go on forever.

"You are my pride and joy Yuudai, never forget that. No matter what happens Kaa-chan will always love you," she said softly while patting my head. I clung to my mother tighter I didn't want to let her go back out into that godforsaken world, but I knew that it was an inevitable fact that we would both have to head back out and fight with everything we had just so we could see each other again.

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The next morning I was summoned to the academy I wasn't given much of a reason. I decided since I had no idea why I was going so I dressed in a yukata only putting one arm through a sleeve leaving my whole right side exposed and threw some pants that I would use for training on. I tied my headband to the sash of the yukata and began to make my way to the academy. I wasn't in the mood to deal with any of the brats that were there and was praying that I wasn't being assigned to teach or help the instructors due to my long recovery time which spanned a few more months. I slowly approached the academy's gates when I spotted a familiar figure leaning up against the gate. Said figure spotted me and I turned on a dime and began to walk away, in a split second I felt a wave of intent hit me and turned to stop a punch aimed for my head.

"Nice to see you too, Yuudai," Aoi said with a smirk.

"I don't feel like dealing with your shenanigans this early in the morning woman," I said while trying to keep her fist that she kept trying to push into my jaw. I knew it was mostly her stopping herself if she wanted to punch me she would have found a way to do so. Aoi backed away with a smile.

"I see your reflexes haven't dulled at all since we last saw each other, oh, and you've gotten taller!" she said as she hovered her hand over my head and then back to hers. The girl in front of me has changed a lot since I last saw her, gone is any traces of meekness in her voice she spoke with the kind of confidence that comes with being successful. She had her hair braided into a long ponytail, her attire was what was even more surprising sporting just chainmail with a black t-shirt and blue shorts something I would have never imagined her wearing due to how much skin she was showing. Then again maybe that was just me misreading her as a human being and of course, people change and a year is a long time, I'm not the same person I was a year ago, why would she be?

"Of course my reflexes are top-notch, why wouldn't they be?" I asked as I took a step past her. "Do I look like some pampered main house heir?"

"No, I just wasn't sure if you were even still active as a shinobi. I heard how your first mission went and-"

"Stop right there, don't say another word Aoi," I cut through her sentence abruptly, I didn't like how my first mission went either and I have tried hard to forget what happened but it's still a sore spot for me. I continued to walk towards the academy. " I don't like talking about that mission," I said in a low tone, Aoi followed close behind me.

"I'm sorry I brought up something painful for you,"

I shook my head quietly hoping that would relay to her that I wasn't upset with her, it was myself that I was upset with. I've always thought how different that mission could have been had I not used that jutsu in the tournament maybe my senpais would still be alive today. We both entered the academy through the steel double doors and made our way to the main office as we walked my eyes drifted to the pictures of the winners of the best of class tournament of course for our year Aoi's picture was displayed, I expected nothing less from her. As we reached the office one picture opposite from the others hung all alone near the door, my class picture I took stared back at me and below it read "most consecutive wins '18'". I stared at the picture in astonishment.

"Surprised?" came Aoi's voice behind me.

"Hell yeah, I didn't think they would care about me losing!" I said loudly. Aoi giggled at my statement.

"You have no idea how much of a show you put on, do you? Every single person was fascinated by that rank 20 nobody, you even inspired our juniors to take being a shinobi more seriously. That hard work and perseverance pay off if you're committed to seeing things through to the bitter end. You even started a kind of trend the last rank one requested to be placed down at rank 20 to see if they could beat your record,"

"I'm assuming that didn't go so well for him?"

"It didn't he only was able to get to five wins,"

I thought so kid probably burned himself out. What I did in the tournament was no easy feat, to win 18 fights in a row with only two breaks is damn near superhuman, the body and mind can only deal with so much stress and it only gets worse with fatigue. Honestly what I did shouldn't even be tried again….ever. That's not so I could keep my record but it's just simply dangerous on all fronts, hell looking back on it I wonder why nobody even tried to stop me from attempting it.

"Hmph a shame maybe he should know his limits," I said dismissively and entered the office. Aoi followed and we were greeted by the clerks that were on shift that day, we said our greetings and made our way to the headmaster's office. I knocked three times.

"Enter," came a man's voice. We both entered and bowed. "Raise your heads, both of you,"

As my head came up I was able to get a glimpse of the room. It felt like the history of Iwagakure surrounded us there were pictures of people I didn't recognize and some that I did just based on who they were while alive. Four pictures hung above the wall behind the headmaster all men who I have to assume held the same position as the man in front of me, he didn't look too old so I guessed he was in his mid-thirties, he had a scar that ran from his ear under his eye passed his lips and ended at his chin. His hands were sitting in front of his mouth and I could see he was missing a finger or two, his eyes were cold devoid of any kind of emotion and his icy gaze was set upon us.

"I'm glad you two were able to make time out of your busy schedules to come," he said cooly. I had nothing to say to that if anyone was a busy bee it would be Aoi. I was merely recovering from my injuries. "Let's cut to the chase, I want both of you to be instructors here for the short time that you both are on leave I think that our younger students could benefit greatly from their senpai's tutelage,"

"It would be an honor headmaster," Aoi said without hesitation and then shot me a look out the corner of her eye.

"Likewise," I huffed out. "What will I be teaching?" I asked.

"Why swordsmanship, of course, I haven't seen someone your age blessed with such skill in this village for a long time now I do believe you will have excellent things to teach those who may want to walk your path of the sword, Yuudai"

Great just what I needed, a shit detail. I hope the doctors clear me for duty soon the last thing I want is to be an instructor at the academy.

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A/N: I'm not going to apologize for my tardiness on this update….. I'll do better to get my updates more tight and consistent life just likes to kick me in the balls so review if you want, thank you for reading and as always… until next time my friends.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 21

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I was completely against becoming a kenjutsu teacher within the academy, I didn't have the patience for it. Akako was ruthless as a teacher because of the same reason, she would teach a concept and then beat me till I got it through my head or she knocked me out whichever came first. I knew I would be the same way, so I had one stipulation to my tenure as a sensei here.

"I will pick my students through a vetting process," I said blankly. "Otherwise I will not teach anyone the way of the sword," the headmaster raised an eyebrow in objection so I continued with my reasoning. "I will not waste my time on people with subpar resolve, kenjutsu is a life-long craft. One that takes extreme discipline to even gain proficiency in let alone master, I refuse to teach down to the lowest common denominator for quantity. It's either you allow me to create quality swordsmen or I walk, got better things to do than babysit a bunch of brats,"

"Yuudai!" Aoi shouted. I didn't even glance in her direction my eyes stayed locked on the headmaster. It was his move he was the one who was asking me to teach and I gave him my price, either way, it's my win.

"Fine I'll allow it, but the safety of the students of the must be preserved to an extent nothing dangerous," he said with a stern look, which I returned with equal intensity.

"I'll keep it within reason no promises, we are making shinobi after all," I said. Aoi eyes were darting between the headmaster and myself trying to gauge what would happen next.

"Well then I see no reason for us to continue this discussion I'll see you both tomorrow and let you know your schedules," he said and waved his hand at us. We both bowed slightly and walked out. Once the door shut I ducked and a blast of air past over me, I knew she would try.

"Don't dodge it you ingrate!" came Aoi's angry voice as she stomped her foot.

"And get hit upside the head? Thanks but I'll pass,"

"I can't believe how disrespectful you were, you do realize that the headmaster is a member of the Kamizuru clan?!"

I scoffed at the mention of them. The head ruling clan of Iwagakure, what of them? they haven't contributed anything to the war effort except getting their asses handed to them by Konoha's Aburame clan. In my mind, they were just another main house clan who has allowed affluence to slowly corrupt them and turn them into lazy, entitled elites. War and conflict are used as a distraction by elites throughout history but if you pay attention it also exposes their weakness especially in a warrior society. I can see the cracks in their omnipotent armor, and it's only a matter of time before a fatal weakness would appear and I secretly promised myself that when that time came if it did I would be my mother's sword and strike right at that weakness.

"Isn't it obvious that I don't care about things like that Aoi? I care about ability and what results you can produce I judge people based on the way I am judged by others, simple things like status are nothing more than a superficial way society tries to separate and divide people based on birthright. The battlefield cares nothing of silly things like status, you of all people should understand this,"

Aoi huffed in opposition. "You're going to get yourself killed thinking like that,"

"Same to you," I shot back. We exited the academy and began to make our way to the center of the village. We walked in relative silence which was comfortable for me but I could see the discomfort in Aoi's body language. "So, what are you doing home? Other than being dragged into babysitting duty," I asked.

"It's not babysitting, and I was placed on leave for a while," she said while staring straight ahead.

"I see, I see so you got in trouble with Akako-taicho," I said with a smirk. The pain quickly filled my side and I choked on a breath as Aoi dug her elbow into my rib cage. "Guess I was right?" I said through my gritted teeth.

"Shut your fucking mouth Yuudai," Aoi said. "Or I'll shut it for you,"

"Don't threaten me with a good time," I said with a defiant smirk still plastered on my face. Aoi looked at with a really nasty expression on her face.

"I'm warning you for the last time Yuudai, knock it off,"

Killjoy can't laugh at your problems? So uptight. I gave in to her demands wanting to avoid an all-out fight in public which would have gotten us both in hot water with our respective superiors, Hisako had been in a pissy mood since the raid so the last thing I wanted to do was put myself in her crosshairs.

"Thought we were friends, guess not close friends, huh?" I said.

"I never said that it's just a touchy subject for me right now so lay off,"

"Fine, I'm not the prying type anyways,"

We weaved our way through the center of the village and made a turn that would take us to the open training grounds everyone used, I had no idea why we were heading in this direction well that was until we got there and I saw Mikoto standing at the entrance. I hadn't seen her since the academy and honestly, it could have stayed that way, my body became more rigid with each step prepared to respond to a threat quickly. I didn't trust her at all because she was the hardest for me to read. I knew Keita hated my guts and so did Ryojin even if he wasn't very vocal about it anymore. Mikoto was different she always wore an emotionless face never really reacting to much that happened around her almost as if she was just uninterested in life as a whole.

"Good afternoon Mikoto-sama," Aoi said with a slight bow, I also silently bowed my head just to avoid Aoi's wrath if I didn't do so.

"Good afternoon Aoi, same to you Yuudai. What brings you here?" Mikoto asked with a monotone voice.

"I'm being dragged around by Aoi," I said.

"Don't listen to this fool Mikoto-sama, he came of his own volition," Aoi snapped back. Mikoto looked between the two of us her face never changing.

"I see, well Aoi we should find a good spot to get started," Mikoto said while turning away from us. We walked through the grounds which was being used by others and tried to find a good open space for ourselves, we came upon an area with a giant boulder sitting off in the background and the two girls decided this place would suffice. I decided to excuse myself moved to the top of the boulder and sat down, I rested my face into my palm and watched the two begin to spar. I watched them go after each other at about a 50% effort pulling punches when necessary but hitting hard when one left themselves open. It was obvious Aoi was the better fighter as she would land the majority of the hard blows.

'She's a skilled fighter partner,' Kamiko said within my mind. 'We would have problems going against her head-on for an extended period'

"Who? Aoi?" I asked.

'Yes'

I began to watch Aoi's fighting style a bit more closely. She was a close-range fighter but she was good at creating small openings within that range which is a mixture of skill and raw instinct. Unlike my fighting style which was nothing but pure instinct that was given a bit of structure to work within, Aoi was technically sound no matter how hard Mikoto tried she couldn't make Aoi break her stance. Aoi was forcing Mikoto to fight by her rules, if Mikoto tried to create space Aoi would close it instantly, if she tried to go on the defensive Aoi would pummel her out of it and force an attack, If she tried to go on the offensive then Aoi would simply punish her for every missed attack which would then force Mikoto to retreat only to repeat the cycle over. That was Aoi's fighting style she dictated the flow of combat, she was like a conductor directing her opponents to play her tune which allowed her to always stay one step ahead and that was a powerful thing. Honestly, she was just toying with Mikoto and Mikoto's lack of combat experience kept her from realizing the one way to break out of that vicious cycle. I instantly appeared between the two facing Aoi with Mikoto to my back.

"Mikoto-sama please allow me a chance to demonstrate to you how to break your partner's cycle she's put you in," I said cooly.

"Ara? Yuudai-kun you think you have a shot against me in your current state~?" Aoi said playfully. I pulled out a storage scroll and pushed some chakra through the seal and my bokken appeared in a puff of smoke. I snatched it out of the air and rolled the scroll back tucking it back in my pouch.

"Remember I fought on the front lines for a year as a walking, breathing corpse. At least that's what the doctors told me. Mikoto-sama pay close attention I will show you the art of shifting the flow of battle in your favor." I said as I readied into my stance.

"Fine then how hard are we going?" Aoi asked.

"Real combat speed," I responded. "100%"

A smirk crept on Aoi's face. She disappeared and was in my peripheral in that same instant, my body moved without thought and swung for her neck, she ducked and launched a punch aimed for my stomach, I brought my knee up and knocked her hand off course and brought my hand clutching my bokken down hard aiming for her upper back. She became a blur again and came flying in with a kick that I slipped and then hit her back leg with my shoulder to cause her to lose balance on her landing. I was in her face once she put one foot on the ground and due to my little bump it had to be her front foot which I took advantage of and swung for her midsection. To my surprise, she disappeared and created considerable distance between us. Aoi was looking at me with a frown plastered on her face.

"You're annoying to fight Yuudai, that last move was dirty," she said.

"I'm only "annoying" because I'm disrupting your flow, you can't do what you want with me," I shot back.

"Oh~, we'll see about that,"

She was gone and this time wasn't like last time it seems she just vanished and my body leaned back as far as possible dodging the roundhouse kick that flashed above me. I quickly twisted my body away from her and brought my bokken up in the knick of time to block a punch, I slipped the hook that followed but saw her leg racing for my side too late and took the hit but I wrapped my arms around it locking it in place and tugged her towards me pulling her off balance and swung my bokken straight down. With cat-like reflexes she kicked it away and then threw dirt into my face forcing me to release her, I quickly blocked most of it with my free hand and spun a kick straight in front of me she ducked and still came for me, I tighten the muscles in my plat leg and launch myself over her. Once I landed I swung my bokken in an upward motion that she slipped and continued to close the distance.

"You're mine!" she yelled. I just smirked. Aoi noticed at the last second but it was too late, my fist connected with her jaw and the sound of her teeth clacking together rang out before I finished with the follow-through. Aoi fell backward but sat up quickly still stunned that I landed my uppercut. She glared at me intensely.

"The hell was that! What kind of swordsman throws punches?!" she yelled while rubbing the pain from her chin. I rested the bokken on my shoulder and smiled.

"This swordsman does," I said. Aoi got up and dusted herself and stomped off towards Mikoto I soon followed. "Did you understand what you saw Mikoto-sama?" I asked. She stared at me blankly before shaking her head horizontally.

"Ok to put it simply, resist your opponent's attacks with your own, never be completely defensive but never be too offensive. A battle can sometimes be almost like a living thing, you have to feel for its pulse search for those openings or create them. Make your attacks predictable but surprising your defense rigid but flexible, its a tight line to walk and I'm not saying it something that will come easily but if you stick with it what I'm telling you will start making sense and it will become easier with time," I explained

"That wasn't a simple explanation," Mikoto said blatantly. "However I think I got the gist of what you are trying to say, so do you mind helping me develop these skills that you and Aoi seem to have mastered,"

"I'll have to humbly decline your request Mikoto-sama, for Aoi is much more suitable teacher for you than I could ever be," I said with a bow. The truth was I didn't want to teach someone who may be a potential enemy later on down the road, the last thing I needed was to be fighting for my life against someone who I helped become a more lethal shinobi.

"I understand, well I do appreciate the demonstration you and Aoi showed me, it's shocking to me how large the skill gap is between myself and you two despite being in the same graduating class," Mikoto said. I raised my head and looked into her eyes and saw a bit of fire within them, her eyebrows were pinched slightly which was the most emotions I have ever seen from the stoic heir's face.

I think I just lit a fire under her.

"Well, if you'll excuse me I must be making my way to the market to shop for dinner tonight,"

"Make enough for me too! I'll be over," Aoi said with excitement.

"Don't just invite yourself over," I said as I turned toward the exit. "But if you insist on coming dinner will be ready around 6 pm don't be late,"

"Yes! Ok, I'll be there," Aoi said with a shout to my back.

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"Sorry for the intrusion," Aoi said as she opened the door and walked in.

"Have a seat in the dining room food's almost ready," I said to her as I tossed the fried rice I was making into the air for a brief second.

"Oh, that looks good. Where you learned to cook like this?" Aoi said looking over my shoulder. I tossed the rice again before reaching over grabbed two eggs and cracked them into the pan. The eggs snapped and popped

"When I was at the earth temple preparing for the best of class tournament, I was placed on kitchen duty so the monks there taught me the ins and outs and I just kept learning on my own after," I said.

"Oh~, we could use a cook in the executioner forces mess hall. We currently don't have one so we rarely eat good food after missions,"

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not interested in joining the executioner forces?"

"I don't see why," Aoi said as she walked away from me. "You're wasting your talent on the general forces Yuudai, you could be a much better shinobi if you would just set aside your pride and see the writing on the wall, you know deep down you were born to be an executioner,"

"Just because I have "talent" doesn't mean I should abandon those without it or look down on them for something they have no control over, I know I'm blessed both in body and mind and I hit the genetic jackpot when it comes to my instincts in a fight. The executioner forces have the best talent in the village they don't need anymore, so I'm going to stay in the general forces and help them because that is where I belong right now," I said as I handed her a bowl full of fried rice. Aoi accepted the bowl and made her way to the dining room. I soon followed with my bowl and sat across from her.

"Itadakimasu," we both said in unison and dug in. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to watch Aoi take her first bite, her face lit up as she began to taste all the flavors I melted together, I was satisfied with that reaction and returned to eating my food.

"How's your recovery been?" Aoi asked after swallowing another bite.

"Slow there are still some internal injuries that are still nagging me, but most of the life or limb-threatening injuries are under control, why?"

"That's good, you need to take better care of yourself Yuudai. Be a shame if you lack of self-care was the reason you got killed,"

I scoffed at the notion, if people couldn't kill me when I was that banged up then there was no way I was going to die unless I got trapped or overwhelmed by sheer numbers and now with Kamiko helping me I've become an even better wave-clearer.

"I'll be fine worry about yourself Aoi after all your missions are way deadlier than mines," I said as I continued to eat my fried rice. She let out a slight huff and possibly called me an asshole under her breath but I was okay with that. I didn't want too many deep connections with people in this world despite my human nature, life here wasn't a guarantee at any given second you could be dead that what this past year of war has taught me. I'm lucky that I survived this long but a lot of my squad members aren't here anymore. Watching them get cut down mercilessly has warped my mind, what's the point of making connections with people that the world was just going to severe later? There is no point. We finished eating our dinner and moved outside to do a bit of stargazing. The air was calm both of us were just enjoying the moment, the moment of still being alive.

"Hey, Yuudai,"

"What's up?"

"Are you nervous about becoming a sensei?"

"No," I answered automatically. "There's no need I was chosen for a reason, I will fulfill the expectations placed upon me,"

"Hmmm, I see. I'm a little nervous, I don't want to harm the next generation. I want to give them the knowledge I wish I had when I was them,"

"Knowledge one can not apply immediately to improve or understand is just a waste," I said.

Aoi kissed her teeth.

"Yuudai why are you so cynical? It's annoying,"

"I have my reasons," I said, hoping she would drop the subject.

Aoi said up and was looking at me with a sharp glare. It was obvious she wasn't trying to let this go and I for the life of me didn't know why this girl was so interested in me of all people. She should have quit trying to be around me a long time ago. She even said she didn't want to be friends when I asked initially.

"I'd love to hear these reasons," she spat. Now her arms were crossed defiantly and her gaze was burning a hole into the side of my face.

"Don't hold your breath then it's gonna be a while before I trust you enough to open up, don't act like we are the best of friends you shot me down when I asked the first time,"

"Are you still holding that against me?! I told you why that was and I felt bad but-"

"You had a goal and didn't want any distractions, I get it, but you are trying to ask your way into my life and thoughts and that's not how I build relationships. I don't trust people or their claimed intentions naturally until their actions show me otherwise and it's done consistently, no offense Aoi but you're keeping your secrets too are you not?"

She was a bit calmer now her eyes were still on me but they had softened a bit.

"Idiot, I would have told you eventually," she said with a huff. "Fine then since you're going to play that game," Aoi took a deep breath and let it all out, silence followed as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I was suspended indefinitely by Akako-taicho for insubordination,"

I shot up and stared at the girl in disbelief. Aoi is the last person I would expect to defy orders from a superior. Her eyes flicked between my face and the ground a few times before continuing. "It was during the raid we were busy keeping the ANBU from Konoha at bay from the main forces and killing off any reinforcements that were trying to back up the initial push they sent. Everything was going ok up until we started to get flanked, and we took some casualties, of course, I got the call I immediately went into triage procedures until I saw who it was that was injured. There were two one was a senpai from my squad who took me in when I first was assigned and help make my transition a smooth one, he was now on death's door and I was the only one who could save him. That was until I figured out his spine was fractured in ten different places despite that fact I got to work, despite having never repaired a spine nor having prior knowledge I still threw my all into it completely ignoring the other patient." Aoi brought her knees tight to her chest. "Things weren't improving and Akako came over and told me he was a lost cause and that I needed to move on to the next patient, and I refused her. I told her I was close to stabilizing him that I just needed five more minutes. She promptly kicked me square in the chest which brought me out of my little frenzy and asked me, ``What can you do for a corpse? Are you God?`` It was then that I realized that he was dead and probably had been for the past five or ten minutes and it was already too late for the other patient due to my carelessness he would die soon because I never stopped his bleeding,"

The tears started now only for a brief moment before she wiped them away quickly.

"I was sent back to the rear until everything was over. When Akako saw me again she took me to a secluded area away from everyone and she beat me while cursing at me, it was the longest twenty minutes of my life. The only thing I remember her saying over and over again was the word 'murderer'. Once we got back to the village she dragged me to the home of the man I let die and forced me to tell the young woman that answered the door who happened to be pregnant that her husband wasn't coming home because of me."Aoi's body shook as if she was vividly reliving the memories her voice choked as she tried to continue. "She called me everything she could think of, a filthy whore, a murderer, a snake, untrustworthy, and she wished that I would die in some gruesome way simple to atone for my deeds. After I took that verbal tongue lashing I was suspended from the squad indefinitely,"

I look at Aoi who was just staring off into the distance, I didn't know what to tell her I'm sure she loved being in the executioner forces especially because she was selected right out of the academy which has only happened four other times according to my mother, this girl was hiding all this under the surface.

"Ok," I started. "Now what will you do?"

She was quiet for a minute or so before letting out a breath.

"I don't know," she murmured.

"Wrong answer," I said. "You're going to work your ass off and regain your former status. No, you're going to be better than what you were before, and I'm going to be right next to you struggling to better myself," Aoi was staring at me now with eyes wide unbelieving of what she was hearing. I guess after hearing her story I just wanted to support her, I know I've been saying that I'll never be her vice-captain but after what she has just gone through I have a strange feeling that this girl was going to develop into something incredible and I wanted to be right there with front row seats. "I'm not going to let my future captain give up on herself, so what will it be taicho?" I said as I reached my fist out towards her. Aoi's eyes showed the state of shock she was in.

"I thought you would have abandoned me after I told you, I thought-"

"That was your first mistake you thought, I may be a cynical person but it doesn't mean I'm completely heartless I do still have empathy,"

Aoi began to wipe her eyes, before looking me straight in the eye.

"You promise? Do you promise that no matter what you'll always be there? No matter how troublesome I am?"

I shot her a genuine smile and extended my pinky.

"No matter what, as long as I'm breathing I'll always be your ally,"

Just this one time I'll go against my beliefs and trust these human emotions I curse so much. Just so I can support someone who may grow into something beyond expectations, something like a myth. Aoi I'll do something that I have only done once before in both of my lives and place my trust in you.

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A/N: FINALLY! I broke my writer's block. I'm terrible at writing the slice of life stuff but I understand it's needed. So sorry for the long wait hope everyone enjoys their holiday and however you spend it….. Until next time my friends.


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